The Florida Tech women’s lacrosse team gave 25th-ranked Lynn all they could handle on Saturday before the Fighting Knights prevailed 14-12 on the strength of an eight-goal second half, handing the Panthers their third straight loss.
The visiting Fighting Knights (12-2, 3-1 SSC) were led by Kristyn Johnson’s four goals and an eight-point day from Sydney Hill that included a hat trick and five assists. Lauren Dickson and Carly McNeil finished with two goals each.
The Panthers (8-4, 1-4 SSC) got three goals and an assist from Jennifer Boyle, and a seven-point performance from Kayla Minton that included two goals and five assists. Caroline MacLeod, and Rachel Johnson each scored two goals as well.
Ciara Moorman made 10 saves for the Fighting Knights, while Cailey Canessa stopped four for Florida Tech.
Johnson beat Canessa 28 seconds in to give Lynn an early 1-0 lead but Charlotte Hardie tied it with 11:05 left. MacLeod beat Moorman with 2:07 left to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead and Boyle put one home with 31.7 seconds left to give the Panthers a 3-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Johnson took two seconds longer to score in the second quarter, cutting the Panthers’ lead to 3-2, 30 seconds in. MacLeod got her second of the day 33 seconds later to make it 4-2. Carly McNeil and Millie Hurt traded goals before Kristyn Johnson’s hat trick goal cut the Panthers’ lead to 5-4. Boyle made it 6-4 moments later.
Johnson’s fourth got the Fighting Knights to within one, 6-5 before Minton took a feed from Carly Niro to restore the Panthers’ two-goal lead with 3:33 left in the half. The duo would strike again just over a minute later to make it 8-5.
Hill got Lynn back to within two with 1:06 left in the half, cutting the Panthers’ lead to 8-6 at halftime. Lauren Dickson got a goal 3:04 into the third with an assist from Hill, closing the gap to 8-7.
Minton would find Rachel Johnson who beat Moorman to give the Panthers a 9-7 lead. That didn’t last long, as Diane Dohler, Dickson, and Hill scored consecutive goals to put the Fighting Knights up 10-9 with 2:05 left in the third. For Hill, it was her 40th goal of the season and for Lynn, it was their first lead since the first goal of the game.
Rachel Johnson’s second of the day tied the game at 10, heading into the final 15 minutes.
Niro scored 62 seconds in to give the Panthers a short-lived lead before Bayley Tracy scored three minutes later to tie things up again. Boyle’s hat trick goal made it 12-11 Panthers, but Hill answered just over three minutes later, to tie it at 12 with 7:17 left.
Mallory Jarka’s goal with 5:47 left gave Lynn the lead for good and McNeil added an insurance goal with 4:21 left.
For more info: Lynn @ Florida Tech Box Score
Florida Tech put 22 of their 26 shots on goal While Lynn fired 18 of their 23 on goal. The Panthers held a 17-13 edge on draw controls and were 10-for-12 on clears. Lynn turned it over 20 times to the Panthers’ 19 and Florida Tech had 15 caused turnovers to Lynn’s 12.
Florida Tech will travel to Lakeland on Wednesday, April 20 to take on Sunshine State Conference powerhouse, Florida Southern. The opening draw is set for 7:00 p.m.