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.
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.
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.
Olivia Going produced three ground balls and three caused turnovers to lead the Panther defense.
Chloe Zador made eight saves in goal for Tech.
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.
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.
Townsend got the scoring started with consecutive goals to put Tech up 2-0 with 26:24 to go in the first half.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
