GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Florida Tech remained undefeated as the Panthers posted an 18-6 victory over Tusculum University in non-conference women's lacrosse action Wednesday evening at Pioneer Field.
The Panthers (4-0) scored seven straight goals in the first quarter to take an 8-1 lead, and built a 13-4 advantage by the half. The Panthers outshot the Pioneers (2-4) by a 37-12 margin and received a goal and six assists from Carly Niro along with four goals apiece from Caroline MacLeod and Rachel Johnson.
Tusculum was led by Tia Tuininga who had three goals, with two goals from Kylie Marek and one from Kamryn McNeil. The Pioneers had 20 turnovers to 12 by the Panthers, and Tusculum was just 7-for-16 on clear attempts. Florida Tech also had the advantage in ground balls by an 18-8 margin, and the Panthers held the edge in draw controls 16 to 12.
Niro did all of her damage in the first half for the Panthers, collecting a goal and three assists in the first quarter and three assists in the second quarter. Niro's six assists were distributed to five different players, with four coming in a seven-minute stretch spanning the first and second periods.
Florida Tech went up 1-0 on a goal from Kayla Minton just 1:34 into the game, but the Pioneers tied it on a goal from Tuininga with 10:20 left in the opening quarter. The Panthers would need just seven seconds to regain the lead on a goal from Johnson, which started a run of seven unanswered goals in a stretch of just over nine minutes as Florida Tech led 8-1 after a quarter.
Tuininga broke the Florida Tech run on a free-position goal with 13:38 left in the second quarter, but goals from Charlotte Hardie, Minton and Johnson stretched the Panther lead to 11-2 with 10:16 left in the half. Tuininga got her third of the game with 9:35 remaining, but goals from Jennifer Boyle and Millie Hurt pushed Florida Tech ahead 13-3 with 4:36 to play. A goal from Marek with 3:24 left in the half would wrap up the first-half scoring for both teams.
MacLeod scored the only three goals of the third quarter to stretch the Florida Tech lead to 16-4, and goals from the Panthers' Boyle and Johnson in the fourth were answered by the Pioneers' McNeil and Marek, the latter with 4:32 left to close the scoring.
Tusculum received four draw controls from Lucy Brewer, with two apiece for Tuininga, Marek and Jadyn Gleason. Marek also led the Pioneers with two ground balls, while Tuininga and Harley Smith each had a caused turnovers for the Pioneers.
Hardie, who had two goals and two assists for the Panthers, led the team with six draw controls while Kailee O'Brien added four. Niro and Hardie shared the team lead with two caused turnovers, while Boyle and Hurt each had three ground balls for Florida Tech.
Taylor Floyd played the first three quarters for the Pioneers in goal and had six saves, with Caroline Monroe making a pair of stops in the fourth quarter. Cailey Canessa played the first half for the Panthers and made four saves, followed by Kellen Lucchesi with one save in the second half.
The Pioneers will travel to Newberry to face the Wolves in a South Atlantic Conference match on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Wolves (5-1, 0-1 SAC) won their fifth straight game on Wednesday with a 19-4 victory at Lees-McRae.
