MELBOURNE, Fla. - Florida Tech (2-1) had its home opener spoiled Saturday as Catawba (1-2) used a fourth-quarter run to hand the Panthers a 12-8 loss at Panther Field.
 
It was a back-and-forth physical affair between the Indians and Panthers throughout the game. 
 
The first goal did not make it onto the board until Catawba took a 1-0 lead with 6:49 left in the first quarter.  Later in the period, Logan Sweeney found the back of the net to even the score at 1-1 at the 2:41 mark. 

Catawba scored the only two goals of the second quarter and the Indians went into halftime leading, 3-1.
 
It did not take long for the Panthers to get on the board in the second half as Tommy Bowser found Brett Pohlmeyer for the goal to make the score 3-2 with 13:38 left in the quarter. 
 
Cole Franzo scored consecutive goals over a 46-second span to push Catawba's lead to 5-2 with 12:01 to go in the third.
 
Less than two minutes later, Luke Palmisano burst by his defender around the goal, drew the contact and scored to cut the deficit to two. 
 
Goals by Sweeney and Bowser, both off assists from Brad Schillinger, then tied the game up at 5-5 with 6:05 remaining in the third quarter. 
 
However, the Indians answered with tallies by Franzo and Joe Barber to build their lead back to two, 7-5, with less than a minute left in the third. 
 
With just seconds remaining in the period, Patrick Stewart found Addison Abramson right on the doorstep for a quick-stick goal to make it 7-6.
 
At this point, it looked as though momentum had inched its way back to the Panther sideline as they went into the fourth trailing by just one.
 
However, a man-up tally by Robert Morrison early in the fourth kicked off a 5-1 run by the Indians that gave them a 12-7 advantage with 8:20 to go. 
 
The Panthers produced a number of great opportunities as they tried to cut into the margin, but they struggled to find the back of the net against Kevin Geiger, who finished with 13 saves for the Indians.
 
Braden Dunn trimmed the deficit to 12-8 with 4:44 remaining when he placed a beautiful bounce-shot into the top right corner of the goal while shooting on the run from the top of the restraining box. 
 
Despite numerous efforts, Tech was unable to claw any closer in the game and the Indians went on to pick up their first win of the season.
 
Sweeney and Palmisano recorded two goals for the Panthers and Bowser tallied a goal and an assist. Abramson, Braden Dunn and Pohlmeyer each finished with a goal.
 
In addition to his one score, Abramson also collected six caused turnovers and five ground balls in the game. Tyler Oblong picked up five ground balls. Nick Fornadel ended with four ground balls and two caused turnovers, while Thomas Gribben recorded two ground balls and two caused turnovers.
 
Ryan Land took every face-off for Florida Tech against Catawba and won 14-of-24 draws while also picking up 10 ground balls. Dan Flock made 10 saves in the Panthers' net
 
Florida Tech finished with more shots (43-40) and ground balls (58-41) in the contest. The Panthers went 23-of-26 on clears but ended the game with 27 turnovers.
 
Next up, the Panthers will square off with Lenoir-Rhyne in a neutral site matchup in Savannah, Georgia on Mar. 2 at 6 p.m.
 
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