MELBOURNE, Fla. – In a fierce SSC Tournament quarterfinal matchup, No. 21 Florida Tech gave No. 4 Embry-Riddle all they could handle but ultimately came up short in a 17-13 defeat on the road. Despite standout performances from Gillian Craig, Charlotte Hardie, and Sofie Bender, the Panthers couldn't overcome a late push from the Eagles, ending their postseason run.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: No. 21 Florida Tech 13, No. 4 Embry-Riddle 17
Records: No. 21 Florida Tech (6-11, 2-6 SSC) | No. 4 Saint Leo (10-6, 4-4 SSC)
Locations: Daytona Beach, Fla  | Embry-Riddle Lacrosse Field

FIRST QUARTER: 

• The Panthers struck first just 57 seconds into this matchup, setting the tone for the day with a Clare McGuire goal, Tech going up 1-0.
• After a draw control by Embry-Riddle, the Eagles tied the game up just 58 seconds later via a Natalie Jansky goal, 1-1.
• From this point, both defenses settled in as the tie would stay at one for over 10 minutes.
• It was the Eagles who broke the tie at 2:26 from another Jansky goal to give Embry their first lead of the day, 2-1.
• 58 seconds later, the Eagles added on to their lead with another goal, this time from Ava Rogala, 3-1.
• Thanks to a Gillian Craig goal assisted by Sofie Bender, Tech cut the Embry lead to one with 20 seconds left in the quarter, 3-2.
• Craig then took things into her own hands after securing a draw control and slicing through the defense for another score just eight seconds later to tie the game at 3-3.

 
SECOND QUARTER: 

• Craig stayed hot from her first quarter finish as she registered goal number three on the day at the 11:49 mark taking the lead back for Tech, 4-3.
• 35 seconds later, however, the Eagles responded to tie the game at 4-4 behind a Samantha Reich goal.
• Sofie Bender then got things going for the offense, scoring her first goal of the day, putting Tech back up 5-4.
• Once again, the Eagles answered back with a goal, from Rogala, her second of the night, 5-5.
• After the ensuing draw control Charlotte Hardie tacked on another goal for the Panthers coming from a free position, 6-5.
• The Panthers couldn't seem to pull away, as yet again the Eagles answered with a score to tie the game up, Reich securing her second of the day, 6-6.
• Hardie once more put the Panthers back on top with an assisted goal from McGuire at 3:36.
• Just 20 seconds later, the Eagles tied up the game at 7-7 behind an Eliana Enners goal, and the change in momentum started here.
• Embry scored two more goals to finish the quarter, matching their largest lead of the day at two, 9-7.

 
THIRD QUARTER:

• Looking to take the momentum back coming out of halftime, Sofie Bender put one in the back of the net via an assist from Sophia Scichilone, 9-8.
• The Eagles answered right back 39 seconds later with a goal from Rogala, her third of the day, 10-8.
• Craig doing all she can to will the Panthers back, dropped in her fourth goal of the day from an assist by Scichilone, 10-9.
• Callison Foreman for Embry collected the team's 11^th goal of the day just over two minutes later in response.
• The Foreman goal started a 3-0 scoring run for the Eagles, setting a new game-high at four as the deficit for the Panthers grew 13-9. Kenley Zeruto and Rogala each scored one for the Eagles.
• To finish the quarter, the Panthers didn't stop fighting and collected their 10^th goal of the day behind a Hardie shot from a free position, 13-10.

 
FOURTH QUARTER: 

• Just over three minutes into the final quarter, Scichilone put in a goal for the Panthers, cutting the lead back to two, 13-11.
• Carly Niro, assisted by Scichilone at 8:35 and Sofie Bender at 6:07, kept Tech in the battle with goals as each goal cut the Eagle lead to two goals before Embry responded with a goal each time.
• The Eagles went on to outscore Tech 4-3 in the final quarter, resulting in the quarterfinal loss for the Panthers, 17-13.

 
NOTABLE PANTHERS: 

• Gillian Craig collected four goals to lead the Panthers while Charlotte Hardie and Sofie Bender each registered three on the day.
• Sophia Scichilone had three assists and four points to lead Tech; Bender also registered four points.
• Charlotte Hardie collected three draw controls to lead the Panthers.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Embry-Riddle led Tech in shots with (29-19) and in groundballs (21-15).
• Tech had the advantage in saves (17-9), but Embry-Riddle had more draw controls secured, 20 to the Panthers' 14.
• The Eagles and Panthers tied in clears each with 14 a piece.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
 

• All-time vs. Embry-Riddle: 1-7
• Florida Tech's lone win in the series was the very first matchup, a 23-9 rout on April 14, 2018, in Melbourne.
• The Panthers are now 0-4 against the Eagles in Daytona Beach.
• The Crimson and Gray are now 2-6 all-time in the SSC Tournament, including 0-5 in true road games (all of which were at Florida Southern). This is their first appearance in the SSC Tournament since 2019.
• Florida Tech's lone win over a Top 5-ranked opponent came on March 3, 2020, when they defeated No. 5 Regis at home. The highest-ranked SSC opponent they've ever defeated was on April 20, 2017, when they won on the road at No. 6 Rollins.
• Sophia Scichilone, with three assists, breaks Caroline Dunleavy's (2015-2018) program career record of 91. In addition, she passed her mark last year of 38 for the second most in a season in program history, and she finishes with 199 career points. Her one goal passes Kayla Minton (2022-2024) for sixth on the program's career list.
• Charlotte Hardie passed Lizzy Christ (2021-2024) for seventh on the program's career draw control list.
• With three goals, Gillian Craig can tie 2017 Allie Modica for fourth on the program's single-season goals list, four will tie her with 2018 Sam Schiano for sixth, and three will tie her with 2018 Lauren Tybor for fifth.

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