MELBOURNE, Fla. (Men's Soccer) – Before you could get yourself situated in your seat Florida Tech was on the board Friday night against Embry-Riddle, scoring just 23 seconds into the contest en route to a commanding 4-0 victory over the Eagles at Rick Stottler Field.
After establishing the early lead, the Panthers kept the pressure on ERAU, ultimately claiming a 19 to 10 advantage in shots, including a 10 to 3 disparity in shots on goal.
Adin Kavara netted a pair of goals, adding an assist for a total of five points on six shots.
Josh Thomas proved to be an excellent distributor of the ball, registering a trio of assists.
All four of the Panthers' first-half goals came via headers. The early goal came off the head of
Brandon Smalley, putting the ball in the open goal frame on a feed from Kavara from the right wing.
Kavara then scored a pair of goals just two minutes apart from each other in the 28
th and 30
th minutes. Thomas delivered a perfect corner from the right flag on the first score, while Thomas and Kavara again hooked up for the second, with Smalley being awarded an assist as well.
Sam Sawyer tallied a rare goal off a
Jack Turnbull cross in the 35
th minute. It was the defender's first goal since Sept. 17 against Eckerd, his only other score of the season.
"Embry-Riddle has good coaches and a good program," said head coach
Robin Chan. "It's a team that we know from last year that if you take them lightly they can hurt you. It was good for the boys to start in the fashion that they did to put us in a comfortable position was good. As you saw in the second half, it was more competitive and if it was a tight game it would have been a real battle all the way through."
Christian Moerch wasn't tested much in the contest but was able to turn away both shots he faced from the Eagles.
Christopher Page entered in relief of Moerch in the 76
th minute, closing out the game. Despite giving up the four goals, ERAU keeper Richard Dearle recorded six saves on the night.
Friday's win concludes the regular season for the Panthers, who will host a first round game in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament on Tuesday at Rick Stottler Field. FIT's opponent for the game has yet to be determined.
