MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Men's Soccer) – No. 20 Florida Tech (3-1) bounced back from its first loss of the season in impressive fashion, as the Panthers posted a dominating 5-0 victory over Auburn Montgomery (0-4) Sunday at the AUM Soccer Complex.
Five different players scored goals in the Panthers' win. FIT suffocated the Warhawks' offense and finished with more shots (21-4) and corner kicks (10-0).
Christopher Page (2-1) made two saves to help FIT post its first shutout of the season.
Brandon Smalley got the Panthers on the board in the 12th minute when he one-touched a
Josh Thomas cross in the box and put it past AUM goalie Stephen Ingram. It was Smalley's fourth goal of the season.
In the 52nd minute,
Per Henrik Nag drew a foul in the box and earned a penalty kick for the Panthers. The sophomore made the most of the opportunity and buried his attempt to increase FIT's lead to 2-0.
Stian Hagboe Olsen made it 3-0 when he headed in a cross from Thomas into the back of the net at 62:36.
The lead jumped to 4-0 when
Hugo Lopez found himself in the right place at the right time and knocked in the rebound off an
Evan Enders shot into the goal in the 76th minute.
Lopez then found
Italo Ramos inside the box in the 80th minute for the Panthers final goal of the game.
Florida Tech returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 16, hosting Palm Beach Atlantic in both teams' Sunshine State Conference opener. Kickoff for the game is set for 7 p.m. ET at Rick Stottler Field.
