Florida Tech Gives Up 5 Scores In Final Quarter, Losing To No.15 Lindenwood 13-12

By  //  February 9, 2020

Panthers were up 12-8 starting the 4th quarter

The Florida Tech men’s lacrosse team suffered a heartbreaker on the road at No. 15 Lindenwood as the Lions scored five goals in the fourth quarter, including the game-winner with six seconds left, to win 13-12 at Harlen C. Hunter Stadium. (FIT Image)

ST. CHARLES, MISSOURI – The Florida Tech men’s lacrosse team suffered a heartbreaker on the road at No. 15 Lindenwood as the Lions scored five goals in the fourth quarter, including the game-winner with six seconds left, to win 13-12 at Harlen C. Hunter Stadium.

The Panthers were rolling into the fourth with a 12-8 advantage but the Lions came alive with five unanswered goals to secure their season-opening victory and send Tech to its second straight road loss.

Reid Chaconas guided Florida Tech with a game-high five points on three goals and two assists to go along with six ground balls. Justin Williams notched a hat trick while Jesse Morgan scored two goals. Luke Palmisano added a goal, an assist and seven ground balls.

Andy Stump recorded a goal, seven ground balls and one caused turnover. Sam Sidari scored a goal and Kyle Sergio dished out one assist. Ethan Tosheff won 16-of-27 face-offs while tallying five ground balls and one goal. Vince Palermo made 14 saves in net while facing 48 total shots.

Williams got the scoring started with his first goal of the season just 2:38 into the contest. The Lions answered with consecutive tallies to grab a 2-1 lead with 5:00 to go in the quarter.

Williams added another with 4:23 to go in the first quarter off an assist from Chaconas to tie the game at 2-2. He then completed his first-quarter hat trick 71 seconds later to put Tech up 3-2.

Tosheff got the second quarter started on the right foot as he won the opening face-off and then found the back of the net for his first career goal. Lindenwood notched consecutive tallies to tie the game up, again, at 4-4 with 9:40 to go in the half.

Unassisted goals by Palmisano and Morgan over a 51-second span handed Tech a 6-4 advantage with 7:32 remaining before halftime.

Only six seconds ticked off the clock before the Panthers increased their lead to 7-4 on a great make it-take it sequence. It started with Tosheff winning the ensuing face-off, then Sergio picked up the ground ball and connected with Chaconas for his first goal of the day with 7:26 left.

The Lions scored with 4:55 to go in the quarter to trim the margin to two. Morgan scored a man-up goal off an assist from Chaconas at the 2:16 mark. Chaconas then added one more goal with just over a minute left and the Panthers went into halftime with a 9-5 advantage.

Stump’s early goal in the third quarter pushed Florida Tech’s lead to five goals. Following a score by the Lions that made the margin four, Sidari tallied his first goal of the season to increase the Panthers’ edge to 11-6 with 9:05 left in the frame.

Another 2-0 scoring spree by the Lions sliced Tech’s lead to 11-8 with 3:29 to go in the third. Palmisano then found Chaconas for his third goal of the day, which gave the Panthers a 12-8 advantage going into the fourth quarter.

The Lions controlled the final 15 minutes as they mounted a five-goal comeback to win the game. After scoring three goals over the first half of the quarter, Lindenwood then tied the game at 12-12 with 45 seconds left.

The Panthers won the ensuing face-off but a turnover by Sergio gave the ball back to LU with 25 seconds to go. The Lions then registered the game-winner with six seconds left on the clock. (FIT Image)

The Panthers won the ensuing face-off but a turnover by Sergio gave the ball back to LU with 25 seconds to go. The Lions then registered the game-winner with six seconds left on the clock.

Tech was able to get a good shot off in the final seconds but Williams’ attempt was saved by the Lions’ Connor Ciemiewicz to secure the come-from-behind victory. Ciemiewicz finished with 15 saves for Lindenwood.

Tech won the battle for ground balls 58-53 but the Panthers had double the amount of turnovers in the game, 16-8. Both teams had 27 shots on goal and converted on 1-of-6 man-up opportunities.

Florida Tech is back in action Monday, Feb. 10, as the Panthers face Maryville in St. Louis, Missouri. This will be the first-ever matchup between the teams. Opening face-off is set for 12 p.m. ET at MU’s Soccer and Lacrosse Field.

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