DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Florida Tech had a late comeback fall just short in the Panthers' 15-14 road loss to Embry-Riddle on Saturday at the ERAU Lacrosse Field.
Sam Schiano guided Florida Tech with six goals, five draw controls and two ground balls.
Mollie Kaplan recorded four goals, one assist and six draws.
Kailee O'Brien finished with a goal, two assist and four draw controls while
Alexis Townsend and
Aleah Fjelstad ended with two points apiece.
Olivia Going posted three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Brittney Embree collected two ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Chloe Zador made seven saves in goal for the Panthers.
The Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead less than five minutes after the opening draw. Kaplan got the Panthers on the board at the 23:47 mark of the first half on an unassisted goal.
Embry-Riddle increased its lead to 3-1 with just over 22 minutes to go in the half but Schiano answered with a free position goal for Tech to make it a one-goal game again. However, ERAU responded with a 3-1 run, including two man-up goals, to push its lead to 6-3 with 13:12 left before halftime.
The Panthers clawed their way back into it, starting with a tally by Kaplan off an assist Dunn. Townsend then scored on a free position attempt before Schiano tied the game at 6-6 from an assist by Kaplan with just 5:54 to go in the first half.
The Eagles scored again just 24 seconds later to push their lead back to one. ERAU then closed the half with two more tallies and went into halftime leading, 9-6.
The teams alternated the first four scores of the second half with O'Brien having a hand in both of the Panthers' goals. The freshman assisted
Aleah Fjelstad to make the score 10-7, and then scored one on her own to bring Tech's deficit down to 11-8 with 20:08 to go.
Schiano's fourth goal of the game came on a free position try and trimmed the margin to two, 11-9, with less than 17 minutes left in regulation. That score was the first of three straight goals by the senior as she tried to keep the Panthers in the game.
Schiano's final goal of the night brought the deficit to 15-11 with 4:39 to go, and kicked off a final rally by the Panthers. Kaplan scored off an assist by Fjelstad and then again on a free position attempt to make the score 15-13 with 40 seconds to go.
Kaplan won the next draw control but a turnover allowed the Eagles to run out some needed seconds. O'Brien eventually caused a turnover, picked up the ground ball and found Townsend for a late goal to bring the score to 15-14 with only three seconds to go in the game.
The ensuing draw ran out the remaining seconds before the Panthers could have a chance to tie it up.
Florida Tech finished with a slight edge in shots (32-30) and ground balls (21-20), while both teams finished with 15 draw controls in the game.
The women's lacrosse team will now have a week off before its regular season finale against Saint Leo on Saturday, Apr. 20, at Panther Stadium. The game is the Panthers' Senior Day Game, and the team will honor its seniors prior to the opening draw at 11 a.m.
For the latest news, updates and information on the Florida Tech women's lacrosse team, visit FloridaTechSports.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Panthers news by following Florida Tech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
