The Florida Tech men’s lacrosse team turned a close first half into a blowout Monday, beating the Newberry Wolves 19-9 in a non-conference game at Setzler Field in Newberry, SC.
Justin Williams led the Panthers onslaught scoring four goals on five shots. Tommy Bowser and Matt Lecompte each netted a hat-trick.
Luke Palmisano, Andy Stump, and Chandler Hake scored two goals each. The goals by Hake were his first tallies of the season. Hake added two assists in the game as well. Among the single goal scorers for the Panthers was Nick Cannetti, who got his first career goal with 2:58 left in the game.
Newberry (2-2) was led by Zachary Sunderland, who scored four goals. Justin Messersmith and Scott Reed had two each.
Vincent Palermo got the start in goal, giving up eight goals on Newberry’s 15 shots on goal. He gave way to Raymond Francois in the final 5:21 and Francois gave up the Wolves’ last goal and made one save. Newberry used three goalies, with starter Jahn Skinner-Ligon playing 36:02.
Williams got the first couple of goals for the Panthers, beating Skinner-Ligon twice in about seven minutes, making it 2-2 at the end of the first quarter.
These teams went back-and-forth for the first 10 goals of this game with each answering the other and it was 5-5. Lecompte would score twice in 1:05 to make it 7-5, before Reid Chaconas scored his only goal of the game with 5:14 to go, giving the visitors a three-goal lead. Sunderland scored the final goal of the half with 4:39 left and the Panthers went to the locker room with an 8-6 lead.
The Panthers (2-3) took control in the third quarter, scoring five goals. The defense clamped down as well, keeping the Wolves off the board. Palmisano, Brennan Banks, Bowser, Williams, and Lecompte all found the back of the net in the quarter and it was 13-6 Florida Tech, heading to the fourth.
Sunderland scored for the Wolves to start the quarter, but it took Hake 12 seconds to answer, and double Newberry up, 14-7. Williams scored one minute after Hake, and Bowser scored twice within a 1:07 span, Making it 17-7. Stump and Cannetti had goals sandwiched between a Sunderland goal, making it 19-8. Messersmith scored the last goal of the game with 1:19 left.
Florida Tech dominated in shots 47-28 and shots on goal 29-15. Faceoffs were close, with Ethan Tosheff of Florida Tech holding a 16-14 edge. The Panthers also held a 27-22 advantage in ground balls. Newberry turned the ball over 14 times to the Panthers 11. Newberry was 15-for-16 on clears, while Florida Tech was 15-of-18.
For more info: Florida Tech @ Newberry Box Score
The Panthers will finish up their six-game road trip on Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. faceoff against Mount Olive, in North Carolina.