YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – The Florida Tech women's lacrosse team sprinted to their third straight win as the Panthers defeated Young Harris 17-10 Friday afternoon on the road.

This is the third time that Tech has started the season 3-0 over the first six years of the program. The Panthers also improve to 4-0 all-time against YHC.

Mollie Kaplan paced Florida Tech with six goals, five ground balls and five draw controls. Kaplan's performance increased her career point total to 104, as she becomes the eighth player in program history to record 100 points.

Alexis Townsend recorded three goals and two assists. Aleah Fjelstad added two goals and two assists while Madison Savje finished with a goal and three assists. Kailee O'Brien tallied two goals and an assist to go along with three draw controls and two ground balls.

Madison Ulvenes led the Panther defense with two caused turnovers and three ground balls. Ashley Walter picked up two caused turnovers, one draw control and one ground ball. Caroline MacLeod collected three draws, two ground balls and one caused turnover. Madison Fields made eight saves in the game to earn her third win of the season.

The Mountain Lions opened the scoring just 34 seconds into the game. Fjelstad evened the score at 1-1 off an assist from Savje at the 22:25 mark of the first half.

YHC tallied three straight goals, two on free position shots, to pull ahead 4-1 with 15:52 to go before halftime. The Panthers quickly clawed their way back with three consecutive goals by Fjelstad, Savje and Kaplan over a 1:29 span to tie the game at 4-4 with 12:54.

Young Harris would regain the lead 5-4 but Morgan Leonard tied it up again for Tech off an assist from Savje with 11:12. The Panthers added four more goals over the final 10:05 of the first half to build a 9-5 advantage at the break. O'Brien scored back-to-back goals during the late first-half run and Kaplan and Townsend closed the frame with a pair of goals in the final minute.

O'Brien connected with Kaplan early in the second half to build Florida Tech's lead to 10-5. YHC cut the margin to four goals with 22:50 to go before another 3-0 run by the Panthers pushed the lead to 13-6 with 16:43 remaining. Included in the run were two tallies by Kaplan and an unassisted goal by Townsend.

The Mountain Lions responded with their own 3-0 run to cut the deficit to 13-9 with just 6:21 remaining. However, the Panthers closed the game scoring four of the final five goals to seal the victory.

Florida Tech ended with an edge in ground balls (26-14) and shots (36-20) while YHC finished with a slight edge in draw controls in the game (16-13). The Panthers were 18-of-23 on clear attempts compared to 17-of-22 for Young Harris.

The women's lacrosse team is back in action Sunday, March 1, as the Panthers take on Emmanuel College to cap the road trip to Georgia. The game is set to begin at noon in Franklin Springs, Ga.

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.