GREENWOOD, SC – For 30 minutes on Tuesday afternoon, Florida Tech women's lacrosse looked on their way to achieving a road win against a ranked opponent. However, a two-goal second half, one that saw the Panthers unable to find the back of the net over the final 25:28, undid their hopes of closing the non-conference portion of their schedule with a noteworthy victory as the #22 ranked Bearcats pulled away, 12-10.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #20 Florida Tech 10, #22 Lander 12
Records: #20 Florida Tech (4-6, 0-0 SSC) | #22 Lander (8-2, 0-0 GSC)
Locations: Van Taylor Stadium | Greenwood, SC

FIRST QUARTER:

• The Panthers took the lead just over two and a half minutes in, when Gillian Craig cashed in a feed from Sofie Bender.
• Lander struck twice in the space of 1:05 to go in front.
• Ella Benson's free position goal at 6:11 brought the Bearcats level and she went on to put them ahead at 5:06.
• Tech regained their footing at 2:05 thanks to Clare McGuire's eighth goal of the season and her first from the free position.
• Following a green card against Florida Tech, Sophie Warren's free position goal at 1:12 put the Bearcats back on top.
• The Crimson and Gray tied the proceedings at three with 21 seconds remaining thanks to Bender's 20th goal of the season as Sophia Scichilone added her standard helper.

SECOND QUARTER:

• McGuire's second free position goal of the game gave the Panthers a 4-3 lead at 13:09.
• Ella Brophy gave Tech a two-goal cushion with her fourth marker of the season at 7:01 on Bender's second assist of the afternoon.
• Benson completed her hat trick exactly 60 seconds later to shrink the Panther lead back to one.
• Mickey Burnett knotted the game back up at five by slotting home Autumn Huskey's feed at 4:42.
• A minute later, Bender's second goal of the game restored the Florida Tech lead.
• Scichilone got in on the scoring at 1:59 as her 24th goal of the season to finish a counter put the Crimson and Gray ahead by two again.
• McGuire completed a hat trick of free position goals, her second three-goal of her freshman campaign, to give the Panthers an 8-5 lead going to the intermission.

THIRD QUARTER:

• The Bearcats started the second half firing as Burnett's second goal shrunk the margin to 8-6 after 52 seconds.
• 29 seconds later, Izzy Olson's free position goal made it a one-goal game once again.
• The Panthers found relief through Charlotte Hardie, who notched her sixth free position goal of the season at 12:27.
• Lander won the ensuing draw and ultimately made it count with Brooke Kelly's goal at 11:37.
• Michaela Wittman made her homecoming one to remember, as the South Carolina native converted her free position attempt to make it 10-8 Tech at the 10:08 mark.
• Benson's fourth goal of the day on a point blank free position attempt cut Florida Tech's lead to 10-9 at 6:48.
• A little over three minutes later, Benson brought the Bearcats level on her fifth goal of the game, tying the game at 10 with 3:44 left in the quarter.
• Kayla Smith's free position goal with 1:35 remaining in the frame gave Lander its first lead since the final minute of the first quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER:

• Neither team were able to break through until the 4:21 mark, when Kelly gave the Bearcats a 12-10 advantage that ultimately provided the final.

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Clare McGuire led Tech on the day with three goals, three ground balls and three caused turnovers.
• Sofie Bender provided two goals, two assists, a ground ball and a caused turnovers.
• Charlotte Hardie contributed with a goal, three caused turnovers and two ground balls
• Sophia Scichilone provided a goal, an assist, a caused turnover and a ground ball.
• Gillian Craig scored a goal and an assisted another for her ninth consecutive multi-point game.
• Phoebe Hurt and Mackenzie Smith each posted two caused turnovers.
• Ella Brophy pitched in with a goal, three ground balls and a caused turnover.
• ·Bridget Robinson tallied seven saves.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• Florida Tech ended with more caused turnovers (16-14) and saves (7-4).
• Lander had the advantage in ground balls (19-18) and total shots (23-17).
• The Panthers were 19-21 on the clears, while the Bearcats were 17-20.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Florida Tech moves to 1-1 all-time against Lander.
• This was the first meeting between the teams since March 12, 2022 and the first ever meeting in Greenwood.
• Gillian Craig's goal was her 28th of the season, matching the career high she set in 2023.

UP NEXT: The Panthers return home to begin Sunshine State Conference play on Saturday night against #6 Saint Leo at Rick Stottler Field. The opening draw is scheduled for 7 P.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.