MELBOURNE, Fla. (February 7, 2026) – Rollins men's lacrosse battled on Saturday afternoon but ultimately fell to Florida Tech, 13–9, in their first road contest of the season.
The Tars struck first midway through the opening quarter when
Nate Paulo found the back of the net unassisted to give Rollins the early advantage. Florida Tech responded quickly with back-to-back goals, including a man-up conversion, before Paulo answered again off a feed from
Conor Sweeney to even the score at two. The Panthers closed the quarter with a late tally, sending Rollins into the second trailing 3–2.
Florida Tech carried its momentum into the second period, capitalizing on turnovers and opening the frame with four straight goals to build a five-goal cushion. Rollins halted the run on an extra-man opportunity as Sweeney finished a look from
Aaron Williams.
Craig Wexelblatt followed with an unassisted strike, and Paulo added another to trim the deficit to two. However, the Panthers found one more before halftime, and Rollins entered the break down 8-5.
Coming out of the half, Paulo and Sweeney connected once again early in the third to keep the Tars within striking distance. Florida Tech responded with consecutive goals to stretch the lead back to four, while the Rollins defense worked to generate stops and regain possession. Despite several offensive looks, the Tars were unable to fully close the gap, trailing 10–6 heading into the final quarter.
Rollins continued to push in the fourth, highlighted by
Logan McHugh finishing off a pass from
Sean Caracciolo to spark the offense. Paulo added his fifth goal of the afternoon later in the period, but the Panthers matched each surge to maintain control.
Carder Ungerott netted a late goal in the closing seconds, yet Florida Tech secured the 13–9 decision.
Paulo led the Rollins attack with five goals, while Sweeney contributed three points on a goal and two assists. McHugh, Wexelblatt, and Ungerott each added a score, and
Brady Greco dominated the faceoff circle, winning 19 of 22 attempts. Defensively,
Mason Masterson recorded eight saves as the Tars outshot Florida Tech 40-30.
Rollins moves to 1-1 on the season and will look to bounce back next weekend when the team returns home to host the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Febrauary 14th.
