TAMPA, Fla. – The Florida Tech men's lacrosse team battled with No. 2 Tampa on the road on Saturday, Jan. 30. With the loss, Tech is now 0-1 (0-0 SSC) while Tampa improves to 1-0.
 
GAME INFORMATION 
Score: Florida Tech 6 | No. 2 Tampa 10  
Records: Florida Tech 0-1 (0-0 SSC) | No. 2 Tampa 1-0 (0-0 SSC)
Location: Naimoli Family Athletic and Intramural Complex | Tampa, Florida 
 
GAME NOTES

• A well-played first period saw both teams knotted at 0-0 until 4:06 left when the Spartans started the scoring by Sam Forte.
• After a groundball pick up by Garrett Gmeiner, Tech fired shot from Ryan Chancer and Brooks van Esselstyn. Chancer's shot was saved while van Esselstyn was just off the mark.
• Tampa came back with a shot with 40 seconds left on the clock that missed. With nine seconds left Jax Francisco picked up his fourth save of the period.
• The Panthers tied the score at 1-1 with 13:38 in the second period with an unassisted goal by Brooks van Esselstyn.
• Aidan Addison launched a shot at the Spartan goal that was saved by the UT goaltender with 11:38 on the clock.
• Tech took the lead with 8:48 remaining as Ryan Chancer connected with Parker Kane to put the Panthers ahead.
• Chancer and Joe Coveleski had chances to extend the lead with six and five minutes remaining, but both shots were saved.
• Tampa was able to tie the score going into halftime with a goal with 2:17 left on the clock.
• UT fired a shot at 12:39, but another save by Francisco kept the game tied.
• The Spartans went on the attack as they scored with at the 10:52 mark and 9:01 to put Tampa up 4-2.
• Tech responded with a goal from JD Ross after a faceoff win by Carter Batt.
• Tampa extended their lead to two with a goal at the 5:38 mark.
• Thomas Strong showed toughness as he fought through a defender then fired a rocket past the Tampa goalie with 4:46 left in the third period.
• The Panthers responded fast after Tampa went up 6-4 as Max Henry scored off an assist by Ryan Chance to shrink Tampa's lead to one going into the fourth period.
• Jax Francisco made a great save at the 13:55 mark to give the Panthers a chance to tie.
• After a forced turnover by the Spartans, UT found the back of the net to push their lead to 7-5.
• Florida Tech continued to show resilience as Gavin Stecher scored an unassisted goal with 10 minutes remaining to make it a one-score game.
• Tampa found rhythm on offense as they scored at the six-minute mark and with 4:43 remaining.
• The Spartans were able to get one last goal off with 39 seconds left as they held on to a 10-6 lead.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• Jax Francisco played excellent in goal as he collected 15 saves.
• Tech received goals from six different players.

COACHES CORNER
"Starting the season with a program such as Tampa poses natural challenges. Our young men held firm. We had some hiccups which cost us, but we'll look at the film, set benchmarks to improve, and get back in action next week."
"I'm proud of the way we responded to our mistakes. We ask for effort all over the field, and I think our guys delivered. Credit to Tampa. They capitalized on some errors we made to close the deal."

UP NEXT
The Panthers will return home to Melbourne, Florida where they will host No. 18 Rollins for an out-of-conference match up on Saturday, Feb. 7 at Rick Stottler Field.