CHARLOTTE, N.C. – No. 6 Florida Tech (3-0) impressed in its Top 10 matchup with No. 7 Queens (1-2) on Sunday afternoon, cruising to a 17-8 victory at Dickson Field at the Queens Sports Complex.
It was the Panthers' third straight win over a ranked opponent to start the season, and second in a row on the road.
Caroline Dunleavy guided the Crimson and Gray with eight points on six goals and two assists.
Sam Schiano set a new school record in the game with 12 draw controls to go along with three goals, eight ground balls and three caused turnovers.
Sara Grenier and
Lauren Tybor tallied two goals and one assist a piece while
Mary Gormley added a goal, two assists, three draws, and three ground balls.
Brittney Embree and
Olivia Going caused three caused turnovers, each, and combined for nine ground balls.
Stephanie Stuart improved to 3-0 on the season while making five saves on 18 total shots.
Florida Tech finished with more shots, 35-18, and draw controls, 19-8, in the game. Queens ended with an edge in ground balls, 27-23.
It took just 52 seconds after the opening draw for the Panthers to get on the board on a goal by Dunleavy. Schiano and
Leah Dunn found the back of the net over the next three minutes to put FIT up 3-0 with 26:23 to go in the first half.
Dunn tallied her second goal of the game on a free position attempt to push the Panthers' lead to four. Following a pair of scores by the Royals, Dunleavy fed Tybor for her first goal of the game and then tallied her own to give FIT a 6-2 edge with 9:44 left.
Both teams tacked on two more goals before the end of the half and the Panthers led 8-4 at halftime.
Similar to the first half, the Panthers opened the second on a 3-0 spurt to increase their advantage to seven goals. The Royals' scored two of the next three goals of the game to make the score 12-6 with 18:44 remaining.
FIT answered with four of the next five goals, two each by Schiano and Dunleavy, to grab a 16-7 lead. Grenier's second goal gave the Panthers a double-digit lead, 17-7, with 6:13 to go. Queens tallied one more before the end of the game and FIT won by a nine-point margin.
Florida Tech is back in action on Saturday, Mar. 3, hosting Saint Anselm at 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium. The matchup between the Panthers and the Hawks kicks off an eight-game home stand for FIT during the month of March. Fans can access live coverage of the contest at FloridaTechSports.com/live.
