Melbourne, Fla. (Feb. 9, 2018) -  The Molloy women's lacrosse team dropped its season opener to the Florida Tech Panthers, 22-7, Friday evening at Panther Stadium. The Lions moved to 0-1 with the loss. Senior Jessica Markowitz (two goals and one assist) and redshirt junior Ali Pfeifer (three assists) recorded a team-high three points, while sophomores Kelsey Hammel and Nora Miller netted two goals apiece.

Florida Tech (1-0) scored the game's first goal. The maroon and white answered with a goal from Miller to knot the score at one. The Panthers went back ahead 2-1, but Molloy responded with a goal from Markowitz to tie the score at two. With the score 2-2, the home team tallied nine straight goals to make it an 11-2 contest. The Lions scored three straight goals, led by two goals from Hammel and one goal from Markowitz, to cut the lead to 11-5. Florida Tech led 14-5 at the half.

The Panthers outscored the Lions 8-2 in the second half on their way to victory.

Hammel recorded five draw controls, and senior goalkeeper Jessica Carere made 13 saves and picked up seven ground balls for the maroon and white.

Molloy returns to action Sunday, Feb. 11, when it heads to play Saint Leo. Face-off with the Lions is slated for 1:00 p.m.