SAINT LEO, Fla. – Florida Tech women's lacrosse lost to No. 22 Saint Leo 14-7 on Wednesday afternoon on the road.
Down six goals at the break, the Panthers were able to trim their deficit to four with just over 10 minutes remaining before the Lions pulled away for the win.
Mollie Kaplan had two goals, three ground balls, two draw controls and one caused turnover.
Caroline MacLeod recorded two goals, three draw controls and two ground balls.
Morgan Leonard,
Karly Liebendorfer and
Kyla Vendemia recorded one goal, apiece.
Millie Hurt finished with three draw controls, and
Maggie Reed collected two ground balls.
Emily Harris made eight saves in goal and picked up four ground balls.
Saint Leo jumped out to an early 4-0 advantage with 24:31 to go in the first half. The Panthers responded with consecutive free position goals by Kaplan and MacLeod to bring the margin to 4-2 with 19:53 remaining.
The Lions mounted another quick four-goal run to build their lead to 8-2 with 9:46 left in the half. MacLeod beat her defender on the right wing and scored her second of the day to make it an 8-3 game with 7:44 to go.
SLU scored again with 1:44 left in the half and carried a six-goal advantage into halftime.
After a slow start to the second half, Vendemia opened the scoring with her second goal of the season to cut the Panthers' deficit to 9-4 with 20:06 remaining. The Lions answered less than a minute later to push their lead back to five.
Leonard and Kaplan scored consecutive goals to trim the deficit to 10-6 with 10:45 left but SLU answered with back-to-back goals to regain a six-goal advantage with just over eight minutes to go.
Liebendorfer recorded her first career goal to make the score 12-7 with 7:35 remaining. The Lions tallied the final two goals of the game to seal their victory and earn the season sweep of the Panthers.
Saint Leo finished with more shots, 30-21, and ground balls, 23-16, while Florida Tech collected more draw controls, 13-10. The Panthers were successful on 9-14 clear attempts while the Lions converted 16-19 of their clears.
Next up for Florida Tech is a road game at Palm Beach Atlantic on Wednesday, April 14, in West Palm Beach, Fla. The contest is set to begin at 7 p.m. at the PBA Soccer/Lacrosse Field.
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.
