Kailee O’Brien – Credit: Florida Tech Athletics

The Florida Tech women’s lacrosse team took down 16th-ranked Lander 13-9 on Saturday at Florida Tech Panther Stadium. The win was the first over a ranked team in about two years and is now 5-0 for the first time since 2018.

The Panthers celebrated Senior Day before the game.

Cailey Canessa got the start for Florida Tech and made eight saves. Bearcats starter Brenah Sarell made seven saves.

Kayla Minton continues her great start to the season, scoring five goals, and now has 18 for the season. She is tied with Caroline MacLeod, who had a hat trick on Saturday bringing her season total to 18.

 Alyssa Suchan had two goals and two assists, Emma Arifin had two goals and an assist, and Melissa Clapsaddle scored twice for the Bearcats (6-3).

Clapsaddle got the scoring started 51 seconds in, but the Panthers answered with tallies from MacLeod and Millie Hurt to give the Panthers the lead with 8:14 left in the first. Izzy Olson made it 2-2 before MacLeod and Minton went back-to-back to put Tech up 4-2. Suchan and Mickey Burnett scored 28 seconds apart, tying the game 4-4. Carly Niro put the Panthers up and they led 5-4 after 15 minutes.

Minton scored 1:04 into the second, giving the Panthers a two-goal lead only to see Arifin score twice in the span of 1:26, tying the game 6-6. The teams traded the next four goals, tying things up at eight. Kailee O’Brien and MacLeod were the goal scorers for the Panthers and the teams went into halftime knotted at eight.

Florida Tech took control in the third quarter, outsourcing the Bearcats 4-0. Rachel Johnson and Minton scored 56 seconds apart and Jennifer Boyle scored ahead of another goal by Minton to make it 12-8. 

Minton ended the third quarter with a goal and started the fourth with another, as the Panthers were up 13-8 with 5:33 left. Lauren Fallow scored with 29.1 seconds left for the Bearcats to cut the final deficit to four.

For more info: Lander @ Florida Tech Box Score

Florida Tech outshot the Bearcats 22-19, and 20-17 in shots on goal. They held a 15-11 advantage on draw controls, with Lander edging the Panthers in ground balls 25-23. Lander was 15-for-18 on clears, while the Panthers were 16-for-20.

Florida Tech was 2-for-4 on free-position shots, with the Bearcats going 1-for-3.

Next up for the Panthers is a home match against Montevallo on March 21. The opening draw is set for 7:00 p.m.