MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Florida Tech men's lacrosse team took down No. 18 Rollins in their home opener on Saturday, Feb. 7. With the exciting 13-9 win, Tech is now 1-1 while Rollins falls to 1-1.
 
GAME INFORMATION 
Score: Florida Tech 13| No. 18 Rollins 9  
Records: Florida Tech 1-1 (0-0 SSC) | No. 18 Rollins 1-1 (0-0 SSC)
Location: Rick Stottler Field | Melbourne, Florida 
 
GAME NOTES
FIRST QUARTER

• Max Henry fired the first shot 43 seconds into the game, but the Rollins goaltender made an excellent save to keep Tech off the board.
• After two offsides penalties on the Panthers, Tech rallied and played exceptional defense as Jax Francisco made a save with 12:44 on the clock. The Tars were on the attack again soon after as FT forced a turnover despite being down two men.
• The Tars took the lead with 8:36 left in the first with a goal from Nate Paulo.
• Tech quickly responded as JD Ross fired a seed into the back of the net off a great assist by Brooks van Esselstyn.
• Thomas Strong put the Panthers ahead on the man-up opportunity with a goal with five minutes remaining.
• After a second goal from Nate Paulo to tie the game, Joe Coveleski was able to score with eight seconds remaining in the quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

• Tech found their groove on offense as they score four unanswered to kick off the second quarter with goals from Drew Haffner, Max Henry, Brooks van Esselstyn and Joe Coveleski.
• Now with a sense of urgency, Rollins scored three goals including a man-up goal to shrink Tech's lead to 7-5.
• Landon Addleman ended the Tars 3-0 run with his first goal of the season with 1:32 on the clock. Jonah Borynec credited with the assist.
• Jax Francisco earned two saves in the period as the Panthers led 8-5 going into half.
• Rollins won seven faceoffs compared to the Panthers two.

THIRD QUARTER

• A low scoring third quarter saw Tech play incredible defense as they only allowed one goal on eight total shots from the Tars. The lone goal was scored by Conor Sweney at the 12:48 mark.
• Van Esselstyn notched his second goal of the game with 3:36 on the clock.
• Rob Gadomski fired one home to extend the Panthers lead to 10-6 going into the final quarter. Ryan Chancer with the assist.

FOURTH QUARTER

• The Tars scored the fourth quarter's first goal three minutes into the period.
• Thomas Strong powered home his second goal of the afternoon off an assist by Drew Haffner with seven minutes remaining.
• Rollins scored with 4:40 left to play. Tech responded fast as Chancer scored at the 3:21 mark.
• Max Henry put the game away and collect his first career hat trick as he slipped one by the Tars goalie with two minutes left.
• Jax Francisco faced back-to-back shots with 20 seconds remaining as he saved both. 
• Rollins scored with 10 seconds left in the game, but the Panther lead was too insurmountable. 

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• Max Henry notched his first collegiate hat trick.
• Bobby Canaway led the team with four groundballs.
• Jax Francisco was lights out as he saved 11 shots on 40 shots faced.
• Brooks van Esselstyn and Thomas Strong both collected multi-goal games.
• This is the Panthers first ranked win of 2026 as Rollins came in at No. 18.

UP NEXT
The Panthers will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 14 as they welcome in the No. 5 ranked Wingate Bulldogs. Game slated to start at 12:00 p.m. EST at Rick Stottler Field.