COMMERCE, TX (Women's Soccer) - On Friday night, Florida Tech (0-1) opened it's 2017 season on the road, suffering a narrow loss at Lions Soccer field to No. 15 Texas A&M Commerce (1-0). Goals in the second put Florida Tech at a distance, allowing the Lions to avenge their loss from FIT in the 2016 season opener.

Atop of the Panthers offensive efforts, sophomore midfielder Maria Munoz, ended the nights outing with four shots, two of which were on goal. Behind her, teammates Brittany Etrick and Kiera McCarthy accumulated one shot on goal apiece. 

Defensively, red-shirt senior Karlyn Prisco totaled three saves during the evening, and allowed two goals on the five shots attempted. Last year, Prisco completed the 2016 season ranked third in the Sunshine State Conference for save percentage with .798. In percentage of goals allowed, the Rockledge native sat in fourth amongst the SSC goalies with a .994. 

Shooting three of their seven totals shots in the first half, Florida Tech remained on par with No. 15 A&M Commerce, who took four of their nine shots before the second. Coming up with two saves in the earlier minutes, Prisco allowed the Panthers to enter the half with the score tied at zero. 

"I have to give TAMC all the credit tonight for a hard fought match and creating more opportunities than we did", Head Coach Dustin Smith said. "If Prisco didn't come up big, the score could have been lopsided. We are a young team, and learning from tonight will make us a better team moving forward."

Scoreless at the half, the Lions found the back of the net at the 49 minute of the match. The goal came from a ball that was placed just over Prisco's head in the center of the goal. Ahead by one with 46 minutes left to go, the Lions snuck another point on the board with a shot in on a corner kick at the 54 minute. 

Now down 2-0, the Panthers picked up their offensive pace, pressing the Commerce-based defense in the remaining minutes. Florida Tech put three of its four shots on the goal, but came up short at the 90-minute mark.

"We look forward to the upcoming challenge on Sunday against a strong Angelo State team", said Smith.

The Panthers will have one day of rest before hitting Lions Soccer Field once more for a match against Angelo State. Play is set for 12 p.m. ET

For more information, please visit FloridaTechSports.com