Florida Tech Panther Sports Roundup

Panthers Dominate in 16-5 Win Over Brevard

CJ Nichols scored four goals and recorded one assist, Mike Marshner registered a hat trick and Andrew Conley added two goals and two assists as Florida Tech (2-6) put a commanding close to its six-game losing skid, defeating Brevard College (1-7), 16-5, on Saturday afternoon at the Tornados Lacrosse Field.

Nichols scored four goals for the third time this season, and Marshner’s hat trick is a new career high for the junior. Travis Wunder was 12-of-15 on faceoffs in the first half. Jordan Hayes (1-4) stopped four shots en route to earning his first win as a Panther. Charlie Morrisette added two goals and forced three turnovers.

“We needed this win to get back on track,” said head coach Ryan McAleavey. “We made a few mental mistakes today but overall, we played a good game. We just need to polish up and focus on our game tomorrow against Mount Olive.

“We were in Brevard’s position two years ago, and the biggest lesson that I learned then was that we needed to get better physically and mentally. We had 19 freshmen and two juniors, and it was tough to compete day in and day out against upperclassmen.”

The Panthers got off to quick start, scoring back-to-back goals in the first two minutes. Forty seconds into the game, Nichols found the back of the net off an assist from Brian Bacarella. With 13:41 remaining in the first, Conley followed with his first goal of the game off a pass from Nick Wynne. After a goal by the Tornados, Morrisette scored on a pass from Alex Carlson to give FIT a 3-1 lead.

Florida Tech continued to score at will in the second quarter as Marshner added two goals, and Christian Isola scored one to give the Panthers a 6-2 lead. Nichols recorded two goals, and Nick Brown scored a goal of his own as the Panthers ended the first half with a 10-4 advantage. Wunder was 11-of-14 on faceoffs in the first half and the Panthers defense shined, forcing four turnovers (Morrisette, Wynne, Brown, and Jordan Carlock each had one).

Wynne and Marshner added goals in the third quarter, and the defense held the Tornados to zero goals in the quarter as the Panthers led 12-4 after three.

Nichols and Ryan Bailey recorded goals in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, and Ryan Jennis added his first goal of the season off Conley’s second assist to give the Panthers a 15-4 lead. Morrisette scored his second goal of the game with 17.6 ticks remaining as the Panthers defeated the Tornados 16-5. Ben Abell went 2-for-2 on faceoffs in the closing minutes. Florida Tech takes on Mount Olive College (7-1) tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Amon Field.

The Florida Tech Panthers wrapped up competition at the Walt Disney World Track & Field Open on Saturday. Just like on Friday, the Panthers excelled, and more program records were set. 

“We had an exceptional day today,” said assistant coach Nick Dodson. “Our team was dialed in from the time we walked through the gate, and I was very proud. We had some major personal bests, and proved that we were prepared.”

After qualifying in the prelims, Twaine Gordon set a new program record in the men’s 110 meter hurdles final. Gordon placed second in the final, and broke his own program record with a time of 14.99 seconds. Justin McMaster placed third in the men’s 5,000 meter run with a time of 15:16.55. Terence Brookins finished third in the 100 meter dash final with a time of 10.85 seconds.

On the women’s side, Erica Neave won the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Neave broke her own program record with a time of 13:08.62. JoeMarie Reed had another good day on Saturday, and set a program record in the 200 meter dash final. Reed placed fourth with a record time of 26.79 seconds. Chelsea Forgenie finished third in the 1,500 meter run with a time of 5:17.70.

“We are hitting our stride right now, and are looking forward to seeing how we build on what we did today,” Dodson said.

The Panther men and women will return to the track next weekend at the UCF Invitational hosted by the University of Central Florida. The two-day event begins Friday March 28 in Orlando.

“UCF next week will be big for us, as we hit the middle stretch of our season,” Dodson said. “Our athletes have shown maturity as the year has progressed, and I could not be more proud of them.”