MELBOURNE, Fla. – Facing the #1 ranked defending national champions, the Florida Tech women's lacrosse showed they were more than up for the challenge on Friday night. The Panthers stared down multiple runs from Tampa and responded each time, drawing to within three midway through the third quarter. Ultimately, the deficit proved too much, and Tech fell 20-12.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #21 Florida Tech 12, #1 Tampa 20
Records: #21 Florida Tech (3-4, 0-0 SSC) | #1 Tampa (6-0, 0-0 SSC)
Locations: Rick Stottler Field | Melbourne, Fla.

FIRST QUARTER: 

• The Spartans took the lead 28 seconds in through Peyton Howell and would add two more with a woman up over the next 3:17 thanks to Sophi Wrisk and Sarah Engle.
• Ella Brophy got the Panthers on the board at the 10:38 mark on the woman-up advantage with her third goal of the season.
• Following another Tampa goal, Sophia Scichilone scored her first of the night from a tight angle to make it 4-2 with 8:51 to go in the quarter.
• Following a card that put the Crimson and Gray down to 11, Jenna Myhal responded 23 seconds later to restore Tampa's lead to three.
• Carly Niro, playing in her first game of the season, scored her first goal of the season with 34 seconds remaining in the quarter, doing so from the free position.
• After winning the draw, the Spartans once restored their advantage to three as Howell put home the second goal.

 
SECOND QUARTER: 

• Tampa scored inside 40 seconds once again, this time through Engle with a woman up.
• Wrisk notched her second goal of the game just under two minutes later.
• Niro converted her second thanks to a feed from Scichilone at 10:26.
• The Spartans netted three over the next 3:39, with two of them being with a woman up.
• Scichilone cashed in a feed from Sofie Bender at 4:37 to give Florida Tech footing.
• As had been the case throughout the half, the Spartans scored with a woman up, as Howell completed her hat trick with 2:33 remaining to give Tampa a 12-5 advantage at the break.  

THIRD QUARTER: 

• Sofie Bender began the Panthers' charge just over two minutes into the second half with an unassisted effort.
• Gillian Craig added to the rally 39 seconds later with her first goal of the night, doing so with the woman-up advantage.
• Bender's free position marker at 10:44 gave her two goals in just over two minutes and brought the Crimson and Gray to within four.
• Freshman Clare McGuire continued her great start by putting her name on the scoresheet at the 7:13 mark, shrinking the deficit to 12-9 in the process.
• From there, the Spartans closed the quarter with three goals of their own, including Myhal scoring a woman-up goal at the buzzer.

 
FOURTH QUARTER: 

• 50 seconds into the final frame, the Spartans scored their ninth woman-up goal of the night, doing so through Christina Sato.
• Charlotte
• Engle posted her fourth goal of the night to push Tampa's lead to 17-9.
• Craig completed her hat trick with two woman-up goals in the final stanza.
• McGuire confirmed the first multi-goal game of her collegiate career with 6:24 remaining.
• The Spartans concluded the scoring thanks to Myhal and Molly Shapiro.

 
NOTABLE PANTHERS: 

• Sofie Bender led Tech on the night with two goals and three assists. 
• Gillian Craig tallied a hat trick, bringing her season tally up to 23.
• Sophia Scichilone tallied four points thanks to two goals and two assists. The junior has scored multiple goals in every game this season.
• Carly Niro scored two goals in her first game of the season.
• Clare McGuire contributed two goals, six draw controls. a caused turnover and a ground ball.
• Michaela Wittman provided three draw controls and two ground balls.
• Bridget Robinson recorded seven saves.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• Tampa ended with more caused turnovers (8-4), groundballs (9-6) and draw controls (19-15
• The Panthers were 14-16 on the clears, while the Spartans were 15-16.
• Gillian Craig's hat trick was her fifth of the season.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Florida Tech moves to 5-6 all-time against Tampa with the Spartans having won the last six.

 
UP NEXT: The Panthers will be back in action on Monday night as they conclude their five-game homestand against #16 Seton Hill. 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.