The No. 15 Lindenwood Lions scored five unanswered goals in the fourth quarter on Saturday, coming back to stun the Florida Tech Panthers 13-12 in Division II Men’s Lacrosse.
Florida Tech goalie Vincent Palermo had 14 saves, while giving up 13 goals. The Lions outshot the Panthers in this one, 48-39. Each team had 27 shots on goal, but the Panthers were hurt by 16 turnovers, eight of those coming in the decisive fourth quarter.
A goal by Carter Collins with 45 seconds left, followed by Leonard Jones game-winner with six seconds left, gave the Lions a big home victory in their season opener.
Reid Chaconas and led the Panthers with five points, coming on three goals and two assists. Justin Williams had a hat-trick as well, getting the Panthers off to a good start.
Williams scored the first goal of the day 2:38 in. Jones would tie it later in the quarter and Lindenwood grabbed the lead on a goal by Coulter Strauss moments later. Williams would score 37 seconds later and would give the Panthers the lead with his second goal in just over a minute, and his third of the quarter. With that, the Panthers took a 3-2 lead into the second quarter.
Panther faceoff specialist Ethan Tosheff won the draw to start the second quarter and rifled a shot past Lions goalie Connor Ciemiewicz, making it 4-2, seven seconds into the quarter.
The Lions responded with two straight goals, knotting things at four. Luke Palmisano put the Panthers back up by one with 8:23 to go. That was the start of a three-goal run by the Panthers, who got goals from Jesse Morgan and Chaconas, to make it a 7-4 game with 7:26 left in the half.
Morgan would score his second of the day, as the two teams traded goals, making it 8-5. Florida Tech would add another from Chaconas with 1:03 left in the second quarter, and the Panthers were up by four at the break.
It took Andy Stump 1:06 to get the Panthers’ first goal of the third quarter. Sam Sidari answered a Lindenwood tally with one of his own, giving the Panthers an 11-6 lead. Lindenwood got two back, before Chaconas scored with 2:12 remaining in the quarter, giving the Panthers a 12-8 lead.
Chase Showalter started the Lions comeback, scoring with 11:39 left. Jake Campbell scored just 2:20 later, on the man-up making it a 12-10 game. After Peter Covington’s fourth goal of the day made it 12-11, Collins and Leonard would combine to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
For more info: Florida Tech @ Lindenwood Box Score
Florida Tech (0-2) will stay in Missouri for a Monday game against Maryville. The opening faceoff is set for noon.