ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Women's Soccer) –  The Florida Tech women's soccer teams was handed it first defeat of the season in a 1-0 loss to Sunshine State Conference foe Eckerd College Saturday night. With the result, the Panthers drop to 5-1-0, 1-1-0 SSC while the Tritons move to 5-3-0, 1-1-0 SSC.
 
Eckerd got onto the board during the 24th minute of the first half on a goal by Olivia Ross-Johnson. Off an Ashley Kreinbring cross, Ross-Johnson was able to collect the ball inside the box and chip it over the out-stretched hands of Karlyn Prisco, who was caught a little too far outside the Panthers' net.
 
From there, FIT picked up the pressure with hopes of finding the equalizer before halftime, and proceeded to outshoot the Tritons 5-1 the rest of the period. However, it was to no avail as EC took a 1-0 advantage into the break.
 
Following the intermission, the Panthers continued to pepper Eckerd goalkeeper Casey Winn in the second half. Winn, who finished with 10 saves, was up to the challenge and turned away every one of FIT's shots on goal in the period to complete her clean sheet.
 
The Panthers controlled much of the play in the contest and more than doubled their opponent's shots 27-12. Both teams finished with a pair of corner kicks.
 
"This game was very similar to the CBU game earlier in the season," stated head coach Dustin Smith in regards to his team's performance. "We played well and created a multitude of chances, except for tonight we didn't finish one and the opponent capitalized on their opportunities. We had the run of play for the majority of the game but Eckerd did a good job of thwarting some of our attacks most notably their GK."
 
Aubri Williamson led the Panthers' attack with eight shots and three on goal, while Keira McCarthy also had a number of opportunities with seven shots and two on goal.
 
Despite receiving the loss in the contest, Prisco (5-1) had a strong performance in goal for FIT, finishing with a career-high eight saves.
 
"It's a tough one to lose, but as I've shared with our girls, wins don't come easy in this conference, especially on the road," said Smith. "We need to put this one behind us and focus on Saint Leo."
 
The Panthers welcome the Lions of Saint Leo to Rick Stottler Field next Wednesday, Sept 21. for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff. Live coverage of the SSC bout will be available at FloridaTechSports.com/live.