MELBOURNE, Fla. – In a back-and-forth battle, the Panthers pulled away in the second half to claim an 11-7 victory over Palm Beach Atlantic on Wednesday night. With a dominant second-half defensive effort and balanced scoring, the Panthers remain undefeated all-time against the Sailfish while securing their first Sunshine State Conference win of the season.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: RV Florida Tech 11, PBA 7
Records: RV Florida Tech (5-6
, 1-2 SSC) | PBA (3-4, 0-3 SSC)
Locations: Rick Stottler Field | Melbourne, Fla.
FIRST QUARTER:
- The Panthers broke the scoreless tie at the 7:14 mark behind a Joe Coveleski unassisted goal giving Tech the lead 1-0.
- Tech added to their lead with a goal from Jonah Borynec giving the Panthers a 2-0 cushion at the 3:43 mark.
- Just 23 seconds later, Jakob Terpak put one in the net to increase the lead to a game-high 3-0.
- With 31 seconds left, PBA's Patrick Law registered their first goal cutting into the Panther lead trailing, 3-1.
SECOND QUARTER:
- The Sailfish started the second quarter with a score right out of the gate just 17 seconds in from a Keegan Southard goal cutting the Panther lead to just one, 3-2.
- PBA then tied the game just over a minute later via a goal from Dominic Barnshaw.
- The Panthers answered back to regain their lead behind a Danny Richmond goal assisted by Joe Coveleski less than a minute later, 4-3.
- Two back-to-back goals for the Sailfish gave them their first lead of the contest as Caleb Southard and Curtis Goddard each dropped in a goal.
- Borynec for the Panthers scored assisted by Gary Lozito to bring the game back to a tie, 5-5.
- The final goal in the half went in favor of PBA at the 1:08 mark by Goddard giving the sailfish a one-score lead heading into halftime, 6-5.
THIRD QUARTER:
- Just 40 seconds out of the break, Tech tied the game once again at 6-6 after Jack Cornwell took it the distance himself slicing a score through the back of the net.
- After a PBA faceoff win, K. Southard just four seconds later took the lead back for the Sailfish, 7-6.
- Brooks Van Esselstyn notched in the goal for Tech at the 12:07 mark bringing things back to a tie, 7-7.
- The Panthers finished with two unanswered goals to end the quarter taking a two-goal lead heading into the fourth, 9-7.
- Rob Gadomski via an assist from Coveleski and Thomas Strong via an assist from Terpak each put a goal in for Tech.
FOURTH QUARTER:
- Lozito added in his first goal of the night at the 7:27 mark for the Panthers to match the largest of the game at three scores, Tech up 10-7.
- Strong finished the night off by adding in one more goal for safekeeping as the Defense did the rest, holding the Sailfish to just one second-half goal leading to the 11-7 conference win for the Tech.
NOTABLE PANTHERS:
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Tech led PBA in shots with 40 to 35 and led in clears with just one more (19-20) to PBAs (18-22), while also leading in groundballs (24-19).
- Tech had the advantage in saves (11-9), but the Sailfish had more draw controls (12-22) compared to Techs (10-22).
- The Panthers were (19-20) on the clears, while the Sailfish were (18-22).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- All-time vs. Palm Beach Atlantic: 6-0
- Panthers have won the previous five meetings by an average of 5.4 goals, having scored at least 12 goals in each of those games.
- Tech is 3-0 all-time at home against the Sailfish.
- Jax Francisco is tied for the program's career saves record of 475 set by Daniel Flock (2017-2019).
- Jakob Terpak is now in sole place for fifth on the program's career assist list.
UP NEXT: The Panthers will travel to Lakeland, Florida to take on the Florida Southern College Mocs this coming Saturday, April 5 starting at noon.
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Florida Tech men'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.
