Photo: Reid Chaconas – Credit: Lou Marinacci – Pictures of Motion
After a postponement of last week’s opener, the Florida Tech men’s lacrosse team took the field for the first time in 377 days on Wednesday, falling 17-16 to the visiting Lynn Fighting Knights.
The Panthers (0-1) gave the Fighting Knights all they could handle but a goal by Kaleb Cook with 1:32 to go in regulation proved to be the difference in this one. Jalen Stanton’s six-goal day was a big reason that Cook was in a position to score the game-winner.
Colin Casey got the win in goal for Lynn, making six saves while allowing 16 goals. Vincent Palermo took the loss in relief of starter Shane Carson, who was pulled after playing just over 11 minutes.
Chandler Hake led the Panthers’ offensive attack with four goals and three assists, for a seven-point day. Hake scored his final goal of the day with 12:06 left in the game and unfortunately was injured and unable to return to see this game through.
Reid Chaconas had three goals and an assist in this one and he is now seven goals away from becoming the all-time leader in goals at Florida Tech. Justin Williams also had a hat-trick, while freshman Zach Rozgonyi had two goals in his Panthers debut.
This was a back-and-forth affair throughout as Lynn’s three-goal lead (16-13) with 9:53 to go in the fourth quarter, was the biggest cushion of the day for either team.
The squads traded the first six goals before Williams scored to make it 4-3 Panthers with 5:54 to go in the first. Rozgonyi made it a two-goal game with his goal coming 14 seconds later, making it 5-3.
Stanton would score Lynn’s next two goals to tie things up at five before Williams struck again to give the Panthers a 6-5 lead. Stanton would tie it at six with 2:32 let in the quarter prompting Panthers head coach Mark Penn to make a goalie change. Palermo was inserted in the place of starter Shane Carson.
Carson allowed five goals, turning away one.
The Panthers (0-1) started the second quarter on the man-up and Rozgonyi scored one minute into it, giving the Panthers a 7-6 lead. Lynn would score twice before Hake made it an 8-8 game with his tally.
Luke Palmisano and Bennett Duffy would tally back-to-back goals for the Panthers, giving them a 10-8 lead. Stanton would break the three-goal run with a goal for Lynn, and Cook would tie things up 10-10 before Nate Deplancke scored with 2:02 remaining in the half, giving the Panthers an 11-10 lead at the break.
Hake’s hat-trick goal with 10:38 to go in the third quarter gave the Panthers a 12-10 lead, but Lynn would score the final four goals in the frame, but Fisher Williams scored consecutive goals 31 seconds apart to tie things up 12-12. Stanton and Ben Jackson tallied goals to give Lynn a 14-12 lead heading into the final 15 minutes.
Hake closed the gap to 14-13 to start the fourth quarter but immediately hit the deck with an apparent injury. The Panthers were bitten by the injury bug a bit in this one, but they hung in there.
Lynn (2-0) would score twice to make it 16-13 before Chaconas and Reid scored in succession to make it 16-15. After Lynn was called for too many men with 3:19 remaining, Rozgonyi would score the game-tying goal. It was not a man-up goal, but Florida Tech kept possession after the penalty expired, leading to the equalizer.
Lynn would overcome that with Cook’s game-winner coming with 92 seconds left in regulation. The Panthers would get a couple more shots, but couldn’t find the back of the net.
The Fighting Knights outshot the Panthers 45-38 and held a 26-22 advantage in shots on goal. Lynn held a 20-16 advantage in faceoffs and the Panthers turned the ball over 20 times to Lynn’s 13.
For more info: Lynn @ Florida Tech Box Score
The Panthers will travel to Saint Leo on Saturday, March 27. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.