Photo: Chandler Hake (38) – Credit: Florida Tech Athletics
For the second straight game, the Florida Tech men’s lacrosse team was on the short end of a high-scoring affair on Saturday, dropping an 18-15 decision to the Saint Leo Lions.
After a heartbreaking loss to Lynn in their opener on Wednesday, the Panthers fell to 0-2 with this loss to the Lions.
Vincent Palermo got the start in the cage for Florida Tech. He played the first quarter and did not register a save while allowing seven goals. Jake Hahn played the final 45 minutes, making six saves. Gunnar Luckoski went the distance for SLU making 15 saves and allowing 15 goals.
Chandler Hake led the Panthers scoring attack with three goals. There were three Panthers with two goals, including Cristian Torres, Bennett Duffy, and Andy Stump. Single tallies were the order of the day for Patrick Stewart, Nate Deplancke, Reid Chaconas, Luke Palmisano, Justin Williams, and Zach Rozgonyi.
After dropping a 24-8 decision to Tampa in their opener, the Lions got a hat-trick from Justin Williams and had four players score twice in this one.
Williams gave the Lions a 3-1 lead with 9:25 to go in the first quarter and after Cristian Torres made it 3-2, Tyler Eames scored his second of the day, sparking a three-goal run and a 6-2 lead for the home team.
Stump and Duffy got the Panthers going with two consecutive goals and closed the gap to 6-4. Stewart’s man-up goal came with 19 seconds left in the first quarter and made it 7-5. Duffy got an assist.
The teams traded the first four goals of the second quarter before Ryan Marek made it 10-7 with 18 seconds left in the half. That three-goal cushion carried the home team into the half.
Chaconas and Hake got the Panthers off on the right foot in the second half, as they scored seven seconds apart to make it a 10-9 ballgame with 13:27 left in the third quarter.
Marek would score again on the backend of consecutive Saint Leo goals to make it 12-9. After Palmisano closed the gap to 12-10, SLU would score two of the final three goals in the third quarter, including Justin Williams tally with six seconds left to make it 14-11.
The fourth quarter started with two Saint Leo goals coming 28 seconds apart to make it 16-11. Torres and Guy Bristow would swap goals to make it 17-12, and the Panthers would then Rozgonyi and Hake went back-to-back for the Panthers, closing the gap to 17-14. Peyton Tyson would get the final Saint Leo goal, and Williams would score late for Florida Tech, finishing the scoring in this one.
For more info: Florida Tech @ Saint Leo Box Score
Florida Tech did outshoot Saint Leo 49-35 and held a 30-24 edge in shots on goal. The Lions turned the ball over 24 times to the Panthers 16. The Panthers went 13-for-15 on clears and held a 46-35 advantage in groundballs.
The Panthers will try to get on the winning track when they return home Wednesday, March 31 to take on Rollins. The opening faceoff is set for 4:00 p.m.