No. 12 Florida Tech Lacrosse defeats Saint Michael’s 19-11

By  //  March 19, 2015

win gives FIT most wins in a season in program history

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No. 12 Florida Tech (7-1) took the first body shot, but rallied to give the knock-out blow to Saint Michael’s (2-1) in a physical matchup on Wednesday night at Palm Bay High School’s Pirate Stadium. (Photo by Amanda Stratford Photography)

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – No. 12 Florida Tech (7-1) took the first body shot, but rallied to give the knock-out blow to Saint Michael’s (2-1) in a physical matchup on Wednesday night at Palm Bay High School’s Pirate Stadium.

The Panthers were down early, but a big second quarter allowed them to cruise by the Purple Knights 19-11.

The win gives FIT its most wins in a season in program history, breaking the record set during the 2013 campaign.

Zach Wynee
Zach Wynee

Senior Zach Wynne had his best performance of the season against Saint Michael’s, pacing FIT with four goals and four assists.

Ryan McAleavey
Ryan McAleavey

“It was Zach’s day today,” stated head coach Ryan McAleavey.

“We needed him to step up today and he played out of his mind. He’s a senior and he knows how to compete in big moments.”

Senior Brian Bacarella registered four goals and one assist, while juniors Nick Wynne and Jason Terry each added three goals and one assist for the Crimson and Gray.

Redshirt senior goalie Eric Biller put the Panthers on the board first with the first goal of his career.

Biller jogged down the field looking to clear to one of his attackers but when none of the Purple Knights challenged him, he took the ball straight to the goal and scored from eight yards out.

Saint Michael’s answered with three quick goals of its own to take a 3-1 lead just over six minutes into the game. Senior Andrew Conley found Terry for a blistering man-up goal from 15 yards out to bring the Panthers back to within one.

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The teams exchanged the next four goals with the last one being scored by the Purple Knights with one second remaining on the clock to take a 5-4 lead into the second quarter.

The teams exchanged the next four goals with the last one being scored by the Purple Knights with one second remaining on the clock to take a 5-4 lead into the second quarter.

“We told our guys to wake up,” exclaimed McAleavey.

“That’s a good team. We knew they were fast and skilled. We just needed to wake up and start playing our game. Our guys responded really well.”

The second quarter was all Florida Tech as the Panthers fired in nine goals, including three by Zach Wynne, to take a 13-9 lead into halftime.

Bacarella scored the first goal of the second quarter, after running out a FIT penalty, to push his team’s lead to five goals.

Tom Fitzgerald answered for the Purple Knights to bring his team back to within four, but sophomore Charlie Morrisette tallied his second goal of the game to push the Panthers’ lead back to five entering the final quarter of play.

Florida Tech outscored Saint Michael’s 4-1 in the fourth quarter.

This was one of the most physical games of the season for the Panthers as both teams were called for a combined 13 penalties.

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The Panthers dominated the face-off battle as sophomore Travis Wunder was brilliant in the game, winning 23-of-30 draws.

“Travis was awesome tonight,” said McAleavey.

“He did a great job against a really good face-off guy for them. This was an amazing performance for him. This performance is something we would like to see the rest of the season.”

Florida Tech remains at home for a matchup with UMass-Boston at 7 p.m. on Friday at Pirate Stadium.

Live video, audio and stats will be available at FloridaTechSports.com/live