MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Florida Tech women's lacrosse team made sure that if Saturday was to be their final home game of the 2026 season, it will be talked about for years to come. A 13-goal first half gave the Panthers a cushion that they ultimately needed as all three phases of the game were need in the fourth quarter as the Crimson and Gray held on to defeat fifth-ranked Lynn, 19-15. Prior to the game, the program honored the 2026 senior class of Emma Angelo, Gillian Craig, Brianna Ellis, Phoebe Hurt, Abbie Ogren, Sophia Scichilone and Michaela Wittman.  

GAME INFORMATION  

Score: No. 16 Florida Tech 19 | No. 5 Lynn 15 

Records: No. 16 Florida Tech 6-9 (3-3 SSC) | No. 5 Lynn 9-5 (3-3 SSC) 

Location: Rick Stottler Field | Melbourne, Florida  

GAME NOTES 

FIRST QUARTER 

• Florida Tech got the ultimate fast start as Gillian Craig scooped up the opening draw and went right down the middle to score the opening goal after just 12 seconds.   

• Clare McGuire doubled the lead just over three minutes later with a driving solo effort. 

• Tech needed only 37 seconds to add to the advantage as Sofie Bender cut towards the cage, took a feed from Abby Cudzilo and buried the chance to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead on the power play.  

• Craig completed her trick in the span of 37 seconds. First scoring at 7:52 with the shot clock winding down on a feed from Scichilone at X for her 50th goal of the season and then a wraparound effort at 7:15 to make it 5-0.  

• The Fighting Knights proved why they entered the game ranked fifth in the nation as they responded with three goals over the next 4:18 to cut the Florida Tech lead to two.  

• Phoebe Hurt was able to stall Lynn's momentum with a free position goal at 1:49. 

SECOND QUARTER 

• As she had in the first quarter, Craig opened the scoring in the second stanza at 12:28 with an off-balance shot after being set up by Sophia Scichilone for the second time.  

• Lynn responded in less than 90 seconds with a driving effort just under the crossbar. 

• Haley Rosa would counter a minute later, eluding two defenders and scoring with a right to left laser. 

• Two and a half minutes later, Craig scored her fifth and most creative goal of the game as she tapped back in her own rebound to make it 9-4, Panthers.  

• Lynn would get back on the board at 4:57 through a free position goal.  

• Craig buried her sixth of the half at 4:43, taking a pass from Cudzilo and firing middle-high to restore and double up the Fighting Knights, 10-5.  

• After a delay of game green card against Lynn on the ensuing draw, McGuire made it count, taking a Cudzilo pass and scoring her of the game. 

• McGuire completed her hat trick two minutes later from the free position. 

• Lynn snapped the Crimson and Gray run thanks to a low-middle shot at 1:24. 

• Rosa sent Tech to the locker room on a high note as she avoided three defenders and beat the goalie stick-side high to give the Panthers a 13-6 lead at the break.  

THIRD QUARTER 

• Lynn opened the scoring after 86 seconds on a wraparound shot.  

• Two goals in the space of 46 seconds would give the Panthers their largest lead of the day with Bender converting a perfect feed from Scichilone at 9:58 and Cudzilo scored from close range at 9:12 to give the Crimson and Gray a 15-7 lead.  

• Lynn would get one back on the penalty kill at 8:00.  

• The offenses would get a rare rest from there as neither team scored for the remainder of the period.  

FOURTH QUARTER 

• The Fighting Knights began to make their move early in the final period as, following Ogren's second yellow card that brought her day to a close and have both teams a woman down for the remainder of the game, they scored three times in a 1:58 span to shrink the margin to 15-11 with 11:26 remaining. 

• Bender brought some much needed relief for the Crimson and Gray at 9:23, converting on a high shot thanks to another great feed from Cudzilo and push the lead back to five.  

• A 3-1 run from Lynn over the ensuing 5:16, with Cudzilo the only Panther output in that time courtesy of a great recovery and pass from Scichilone, brought the Fighting Knights to within 17-14 with 4:07 to go. 

• Bender removed any worry with 1:46 left as the Knights, urgently pressing to force a turnover, left all her kinds of space to find her fourth goal of the game. 

• Cudzilo capped the Panthers' scoring with 29 seconds on the clock to finish a move that started with Perry causing a turnover on the other end. 

• Lynn would find the back of the net once more with 13 seconds remaining but there was not nearly enough time for them to complete their comeback and the Panthers earned their biggest SSC win in eight years.  

NOTABLE PANTHERS 

• Bridget Robinson stopped eight of 19 shots on goal. 

• Abby Cudzilo provided three goals and seven assists for 10 points on the afternoon, which ties for the fifth most in a game in program history 

• Gillian Craig scored six goals, all in the first half. She has scored 15 goals in the past three games and joins Sara Grenier (2015-2018) and  Allie Modica (2015-2017) as the only Panthers with multiple 50-goal seasons in their careers. 

• Sophia Scichilone tallied six assists and set a new single-season program record in the process as she now has 43 assists for the year, breaking the previous record of 41, which she set in 2025 as did Caroline Dunleavy in 2018.  

• Sofie Bender added four goals to bring her total to 32 for the season. 

• Clare McGuire bagged her third hat trick of the season to bring her total for the campaign to 20, setting a new career high.  

• Phoebe Hurt provided eight draw controls, three ground balls, two caused turnovers and a goal.  

• Emma Angelo won 11 draw controls, which is tied for the sixth most in a game in program history. This is also her highest single-game total since March 27, 2024.  

• Freshman Isabelle Perry caused three turnovers, tying a season high for her.  

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE 

• This was the 100th win in program history.  

• Along with their February 17th win over then #2 Adelphi, this marks the first time the Panthers have beaten two Top-5 ranked teams in the same season. Tech has four wins against ranked opponents this season, which is their highest total since beating nine ranked teams in 2018. 

• Florida Tech is now 2-5 all-time against Lynn, including 2-2 in games at home. This was their first win over the Fighting Knights since a 13-9 triumph on May 2, 2021. 

• Gillian Craig's six goals on the afternoon extended her multi-goal game streak to 23 consecutive games, which ties a program record set by Sara Grenier over the 2017 and 2018 season. Craig has also scored at least once in 34 consecutive games dating back to February 6, 2024, two shy of the program record. 

• Sophia Scichilone's six assists is tied for the fifth most in a game in program history and is the fifth time in her career she has had six or more helpers in a game. She also moved past Caroline Dunleavy (2015-2018) into second place on the program's career points list with 265 and is now five points shy of Sara Grenier's (2015-2018) record.  

• Sofie Bender's clinching goal was the 100th of her Panther career, making her the 10th player in program history to reach the century mark.  

• Bridget Robinson joins Stephanie Stuart (2015-2018) and Cailey Canessa (2022-2025) as the third goalie in program history with 10 or more career wins.  

• The Crimson and Gray's 24 draw controls is tied for the highest single-game total in program history, as well as the second time they've done so in the past week. 

• The Panthers conclude their home regular season slate with a 6-2 record, which is their best home mark since going 6-2 in 2022. 

UP NEXT 

The Panthers will conclude the 2026 regular season on Tuesday, Apr. 14 when they travel to Lakeland to take on No. 2 Florida Southern at 5:00 P.M. EDT. 

For the latest news, updates and information on the Florida Tech Women's Lacrosse, 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.