The Florida Tech Panthers got their first Sunshine State Conference women’s lacrosse win of the season Wednesday, beating the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish 20-7 at Panther Stadium.
Leah Dunn accumulated a career-high 11 points (6 goals, 5 assists) leading a potent Panthers attack that saw three players combined for 24 points. Mollie Kaplan scored seven goals, and Alexis Townsend had two goals and five assists and Sam Schiano had two goals and two assists.
Florida Tech (6-7, 1-3) took 35 shots, 30 of those were on goal. PBA goalie Abigal Nehring made 10 saves. On the other end, Panthers goalie Chloe Zador saved seven of the 14 shots on goal from the Sailfish.
Dunn got the Panthers started with a goal 1:08 into the game and Kiki Cinotti tied things up moments later. Schiano‘s 36th goal of the season made it 2-1, with the assist going to Dunn. Anna Laskaris tied the game again 14 seconds later, but PBA would then watch the Panthers reel off six straight goals.
Goals from Aleah Fjelstad made it 5-2, and Dunn would score back-to-back goals before Kaplan tallied again to make it 8-2. Dunn’s fourth of the night with 10:22 left in the first half, was followed by another Laskaris goal, bringing a brief halt to the Panthers run.
Shayna Rogers followed the Laskaris tally with two of her own, pulling the Sailfish within five, 9-4. Townsend scored her first of the night with 5:41 left in the half, and Kaplan capped the first half with two goals, making it 12-5.
Kailee O’Brien started the second half with her 11th goal of the season, followed by tallies from Schiano and Kaplan, giving the Panthers a 15-5 lead, and starting the running clock. Grace Bartlinski got the Sailfish back within nine, almost four minutes later.
Townsend got the double-digit lead back with 12 minutes gone in the second half, and Kaplan followed 2:59 later, with her 30th goal of the season, making it 17-6. Dunn would score again to make it 18-6 before Cinotti got her second of the night for PBA.
Dunn fed Kaplan for her final goal of the night with 3:16 left and Hunter Cairo got the 20th of the night for the Panthers with 1:39 left, putting this one in the books.
The Sailfish (5-7, 0-4 SSC) turned the ball over 24 times Wednesday, while the Panthers had 17. Florida Tech had a successful night on the clear, converting 19-of-21 and won the ground ball battle 26-12. PBA held a slight advantage in draw controls, 15-13.
For more info: Palm Beach Atlantic @ Florida Tech Box Score
Florida Tech will head to Daytona on Saturday, April 13 to take on the Embry-Riddle Eagles. The opening draw is set for 4:00 p.m.