MELBOURNE, Fla. – Two days after upsetting the No. 5/6 team in the nation in its home opener, Florida Tech was unable to keep the magic going Thursday as the Panthers were dealt a heartbreaking 11-10, double-overtime loss to No. 16 Concordia-St. Paul at Panther Stadium.Â
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This is the first loss of the season for the women's lacrosse team, who drops to 5-1. Concordia-St. Paul moves to 5-2 overall.
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Alexis Townsend paced all players with five points on four goals and an assist.
Madison Savje scored two goals while
Mollie Kaplan added a goal and an assist.
Kailee O'Brien finished with one goal, one assist, four ground balls, four caused turnovers and four draw controls.
Aleah Fjelstad recorded a goal and an assist to go along with two caused turnovers and two draw controls while
Caroline MacLeod tallied a goal and three ground balls.Â
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Olivia Going produced three ground balls and three caused turnovers to lead the Panther defense.
Chloe Zador made eight saves in goal for Tech.
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The Golden Bears finished with an advantage in shots (27-26) and draw controls (15-9). The Panthers collected more ground balls (20-16). Tech was successful on 15-of-17 clear attempts while CSP went 16-of-17 on its clears in the game.
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The Panthers' struggles on free positions were one of the main differences in the game and could have sent them to their sixth straight win. However, Tech converted on just 2-of-9 free-position attempts including one in the first overtime period, while CSP went 3-of-5 on its opportunities.Â
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Townsend got the scoring started with consecutive goals to put Tech up 2-0 with 26:24 to go in the first half.Â
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The Bears answered with three quick goals to draw ahead 3-2 with 20:40 remaining. Townsend stopped the run and evened the score with her third goal of the game at the 19:27 mark of the first half.
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Kaplan's lone tally of the night handed Tech a 4-3 edge with 11:16 left. Savje then got into the mix with 4:06 remaining in the first half, scoring off an assist from Kaplan to hand the Panthers a 5-3 lead heading into halftime.Â
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The Bears netted consecutive goals less than five minutes into the second half to tie the game at 5-5. Townsend pushed Tech back in front with her fourth goal of the game, off an assist from Fjelstad, with 23:04 remaining in regulation.Â
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After CSP evened the game up, again, the Panthers proceeded to outscore the Bears 3-2 and grabbed a 9-8 lead following a goal by Fjelstad with 6:13 left.Â
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Concordia answered quickly, scoring consecutive goals to corral a 10-9 advantage, its first lead since early in the first half, with 3:04 to go. However, Florida Tech was able to draw a card on the Bears and MacLeod took advantage, burying the game-tying man-up goal off an assist from Townsend with 1:19 remaining to force overtime.
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Each team had a chance to win the game during the final minute of the first overtime. After drawing a foul with less than 50 seconds to go, O'Brien had an opportunity but her free position shot was just wide of the net. The Golden Bears were able to get a close shot off with 23 seconds left but great defense by the Panthers turned the threat away.
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CSP was able to collect the opening draw of the second overtime and reset its offense for another scoring opportunity. This time the Bears took advantage and scored 1:10 into the period to send the Panthers to their first loss.
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Florida Tech will look to bounce back Saturday when the Panthers host Kutztown at 1 p.m. at Panther Stadium.
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.
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