Panthers Claw Back in Loss to Lynn
BOCA RATON, Fla. (Women’s Soccer) – The Florida Tech Panthers would not give up against
the Fighting Knights of Lynn University. After going down 4-0 on Lynn’s home field, the Panthers clawed back into the game with three goals. It would prove
to be too little too late for the Panthers as their record drops to 5-2 and 0-1 in conference play.
“We scored enough to win, but our defense let us down today,” head coach Fidgi
Haig said. “You can’t give up four goals and still expect to win.”
The Panthers went down 2-0 in the first eleven minutes of the game. Lynn’s Sarah Mendelsburg was able to finish an assist from Courtney O’Connell in the
seventh minute. Raisa Kanji was able to score off a Lynn corner kick in the 11th minute to push the deficit to 2-0.
In the second half, Lynn continued in much the same way. Molly Anderson was able to score twice off assists from Alyssa Rijavec and Sarah Mendelsburg in
the 51st minute and just after the 62nd minute. Haig praised Lynn for their play.
“Overall, they deserved to win. They were focused from the beginning,” Haig said. “We didn’t come out prepared and with our minds right. These are the
consequences.”
The Panthers did, however, continue their tradition of finishing games strong with a rapid comeback to finish the match. Freshman forward Amanda Hjalmarsson also continued to
show her offensive skill. Starting her first game, she was able to score twice in the second half.
To end the 74th minute, she scored with an unassisted goal off a nifty spin move to start the rally. Eight minutes later, freshman midfielder
Alyssa Esposito made a
pass ahead to Hjalmarsson who shot the ball just inside the right post.
Not to be outdone by her Swedish counterpart, sophomore midfielder Therese Svensson also scored an
unassisted goal in a one-on-one with Lynn’s goalkeeper. Both Hjalmarsson and Svensson lead the team in points this season with eight, both scoring three
goals and giving two assists.
Unfortunately time ran out on the Panthers before they could score another goal. They out shot Lynn by a margin of seven (18-11). Leading the way was
sophomore forward Teresa
Brantley with eight shots and four on goal.
Florida Tech will try to bounce back in their next conference match against Florida Southern in Lakeland, Fla. at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
