WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- The Palm Beach men's lacrosse team took their first loss of the season to Florida Tech University by a score of 16-6. The Sailfish (4-1) opened up Sunshine State Conference play on Saturday night in their second home game of the season.

The Panthers were the first to strike the net and got up to an early 2-0 lead to open up the first quarter. Coach Jesse Vanatta called a quick timeout to regroup the guys, and both teams came out going back and forth with shots and turnovers that didn't lead to any scores. In the last minute of the first, Florida Tech attempted to get one more point on the board, but the starting goalie, Brendan Pedisich, made a nice save that led to PBA's first goal of the game by Tyler Hopkins. 

Two minutes into the second, the Panthers went up 3-1 after a PBA turnover. The 'Fish attempted eight shots in the next five minutes and were finally able to make a run that would even the score midway through the quarter. Caleb Southard was the one to thank for the first goal of the run, cutting the lead to 3-2 in Florida Tech's favor, and the second was Keegan Southard on an assist from Brad Wharton to tie it up at 3-3. The Panthers responded with their own 3-0 run to close out the quarter, putting the 'Fish down 6-3 at halftime.  

To open up the half, Florida Tech continued to put the pressure on PBA, scoring their seventh goal of the game. Shortly after, Hunter Hopman responded with a goal to cut it to three, but the Panthers didn't let up and went on another 4-0 run that gave them a comfortable 11-4 lead. With about five minutes remaining, the Panthers failed on a clear attempt that led to Keegan Southard finding Sarver Adams for his first goal of the game. But before the end of the third, Florida Tech scored another goal to put them back up seven. 

In the final quarter, the Panthers went on another run to extend their lead to 15-5 after some turnovers by the 'Fish. Overwhelming defensive pressure by Florida Tech made it difficult for the PBA to catch any rhythm on the offensive end. Wharton managed to score one more goal before the final buzzer, but the Panthers fired back minutes later to put them back up 10 and go home with a 16-6 victory.  

Brooks Andrus had a game-high six ground balls, and Hunter Sheffield had four. Though Pedisich was credited with the loss, he had nine saves on 16 goal attempts. PBA caused 21 turnovers in the game as a team but couldn't capitalize on the offensive end, which ultimately led to their demise.

The 'Fish are back on the road next week and will head to Florida Southern College to face off against the Mocs. The game will be held on Saturday Mar. 23 at 12 p.m.