Having returned to the Sunshine State Conference Tournament for the first time in six years in 2025, the Florida Tech women's lacrosse team stand at the dawn of the 2026 season determined to make a breakthrough and return the program to the SSC's elite.
 
When the Panthers start the season on Saturday night in Winter Park against #19 ranked Rollins, they'll be bringing back 10 players who started at least 10 games last season. It's the third season for the Crimson and Gray under the guidance of Head Coach Kelsey Richardson, who's already starting to see the ways in which this team can improve from last season. 
 
"I think our conditioning in terms of endurance is great," says Richardson. "I think the girls took winter break seriously and put in the work, which was awesome. I think in terms of field presence our offense is having some really good chemistry right now; I think we're seeing some looks that maybe we didn't see last year and have a few more options on the scoring end. I think it's huge to have Emma Angelo back, that helps give us some depth at the draw circle as well. So, I'm really excited."
 
Richardson believes both returning and new faces will play an instrumental part in making 2026 a memorable season.
 
"In terms of returners, I think Phoebe Hurt is going to put up some big points this year. She looked fierce in preseason and has definitely taken on more of a leadership role," says the Florida Tech Head Coach. "I'm excited to see her unleash this year. Gillian Craig still looks great and she's producing in different ways than she was even last year. Same with Sophia Scichilone, we talked about how take that next step with her game of not just being the sole goals contributor but also looking for more of that facilitating role and being able to open things up for some other people as well. Our freshmen are super athletic, so I think that helps as well to add some more depth to our roster. I think Haley Rosa's figuring it out and as a freshman, she could put up some points. She's very shifty, so I'm excited to watch her, same with our transfer Abby Cudzilo, she's definitely going to help us with some of the looks from behind cage and hit some other people as well. Isa Brown and Ailish Fitzpatrick are crushing it in midfield. They're athletic, dynamic dodgers. On the defensive side, a couple freshmen in Isabelle Perry and Eva Del Valle are also looking to make an impact, so we're excited to continue to watch that." 
 
Scichilone has been an impact player in attack since the day she arrived on campus, scoring 28 goals as a freshman and then 39 in each of the past two seasons. In just three seasons, she's become the most prolific playmaker in program history, as she set a new program record for career assists during last year's SSC Quarterfinal. She knows she'll be the focus of every defense the Crimson and Gray will face this season but not only is Sophia prepared to face that, she's preparing the next generation of Panthers to help keep the attack at high levels after her career is done.
 
"Every single summer, every winter break, I'm looking to train outside and learn new ways to get to the cage or change my game, whether it's assisting more," says the senior from Lake Worth, Florida. "I've had to definitely adapt to that and change my game in ways which help my other teammates get to the cage. That's why with Gill, when she came back last year, we immediately created a bond on the field where I'm able to look for her and a lot of times, if they were shutting me down, I was able to look for my other teammates like Gill and Sophie [Bender]."
 
She credits Richardson and assistant coach Hanna Hilcoff for making her a tougher player and someone the team can depend on.
 
 "I don't think I would be the player I am today without them," says Scichilone of her coaches. "After my sophomore and junior years, there were ups and downs and it's how you come back from it. I was thinking about how teams know about me now and I have to change my mindset. I have to continue to come out here, be mentally strong to get through a two-hour game and be able to perform, keep my composure and step up as a leader. That really didn't start happening until Coach Kelsey and Coach Hanna took me personally under their wing and taught me how to stay composed, how to mentally get through the tough times during games. I've really grown as a person and a player because of them. I couldn't thank them enough for that."
 
 
She enters 2026 as one of three team captains, along with Craig, who is looking to follow up one of the greatest goal-scoring seasons in program history, having found the back of the net 58 times in 2025 after having her 2024 cut to just two games due to injury.  The third captain is Angelo, a senior from Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, a dominant presence on the draw (151 draw controls in three seasons) while also providing 29 points in 37 career games before suffering a season-ending injury four games into last season. She didn't have to go through it alone, however, as she had a teammate to guide her through the long road back. Craig had suffered a similar injury around the same time the year before and she stayed in constant contact with Emma throughout her recovery process for the good and especially the bad days. 
 
"I remember telling Emma, 'I promise everything's going to work out how it's supposed to, these things happen, and you'll come back resilient, faster, stronger, more focused on the goal," says Craig. "I think for that to happen to me and then be able to help Emma, and give my insight, so that if it happens to someone else, Emma's going to be able to be there for the next person, like a chain reaction. We're all connected through a common goal and I'm excited to see Emma this season come back and she's going to dominate all over the field."
 
The Crimson and Gray will be sure to test themselves throughout the season. Of the 16 games on the Panthers' schedule, 13 are against teams ranked in the IWLCA's preseason Top 25. Eight of them played in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, including both of last year's national championship game participants, Tampa and Adelphi. 
 
"We're on the road quite a bit in February but it's always been the same philosophy: you can't be the best unless you play, compete and beat the best, right?" says Richardson. "I think with our leadership this year and our captains, they understand that the messaging has always been there for this freshman recruiting class. They understand that assignment as well. We played three Division I teams in the fall, and we competed every minute of those games. That experience was very helpful because a lot of them gave us feedback. We got to see the game at a different level than what we're used to, right? Luckily, you don't have to pay play your best lacrosse in February, right?"
 
The slate packed with ranked teams also includes six of their seven SSC opponents. It is not hyperbole when the SSC is referred to as the best conference in the country as it includes two-time defending national champion, perennial Top 10 team Florida Southern, as well as an Embry-Riddle team that split the conference regular season title in 2025 with Tampa and Florida Southern along with Lynn, who have reached each of the last two NCAA Tournaments. Amongst the players, it's a privilege not to consistently face some of nation's best game after game down the stretch. 
 
"Everybody's well coached, everybody's fast, everybody's well-conditioned, everybody's got good sticks. That's what makes it interesting," says Angelo. "It wouldn't be fun if we were just blowing the doors off of everybody, right?"
 
"Speaking from experience," says Craig, who played her freshman season at Division I Presbyterian. "It's night and day in the sense of this conference is fast, the IQ is high level, the coaching is great. The SSC is the best of the best in D2. I also think it's the fact that any given day could be anyone's game. Just because you have a number next to your name doesn't mean that you're going to take the game that day. When teams show up, they show up, and you've got to be ready for it. I think that's what I get excited about playing in this conference, is that I know that whatever number is in front of us, it doesn't matter, because when we show up on that game day, it could be anyone's game."
 
"I truly believe that four years from now, it's going to be like a flex to say that I was a part of this program and this team," says Angelo. "I think my biggest thing as being a senior captain is that I want the underclassmen to remember the stuff that I talked about four years later, when they're seniors as starters and captains and they're in their own roles. That's what's most important to me, what's going to happen after I'm gone and I want to play a role in that now."
 
The experience, confidence, talent and coaching are all there for Florida Tech to have a 2026 that establishes long-term success for the program again.