MELBOURNE, Fla. – The eighth-ranked Embry-Riddle women's lacrosse team staved off a late rally by 19th-ranked Florida Tech (6-5, 0-1 SSC) on the Panthers' home field on Wednesday, grinding out a 16-13 win to notch their second Sunshine State Conference victory of the season. The Eagles are now 11-1 overall and 2-0 in the SSC.
 
Headlining the Eagles' individual performances was Caitlin Gavin whose eight caused turnovers tied the program's single-game record and eclipsed the two-year-old single-season season mark. The freshman, who also totaled three goals and four ground balls in the game, now sits as the Eagles' single-season caused turnover leader with 37.
 
Callison Foreman turned in her second five-goal performance in a row, while Samantha Reich added four and Eliana Enners matched Gavin's three goals.
 
Ella-Rae Cox had another impressive game in the cage for the Blue and Gold, finishing with 11 saves.
 
The Eagles got the first goal of the game just 37 seconds in, but the Panthers evened the score 90 seconds later and the teams traded goals leading to a 2-2 tie at the 9:18 mark. The last three scores of the first quarter went to the Eagles, fueled by a Reich hat trick. Cox finished the quarter with six saves to help the Eagles to a 5-2 lead after the first 15 minutes.
 
After Florida Tech scored the first goal of the second, the Eagles got goals from Enners and Foreman to go up by four (7-3). The Panthers managed another score with 5:28 left in the half, but Enners answered less than two minutes later to reclaim the four-goal (8-4) advantage at the half.
 
Two quick scores by the home team cut the Eagle lead to two (8-6) at the start of the third. The Eagles responded with three goals in a row to build the league back up to five (11-6), but the Panthers outscored the Eagles 3-1 in the final 6:31 of the period and ended a nine-goal third quarter trailing 12-9.
 
It took just 15 seconds for Gavin to win the draw and score the first goal of the fourth quarter, and Foreman's goal at the 13:52 mark gave Embry-Riddle a five-goal (14-9) cushion once again. The Panthers did not give up and with 3:07 left to play, a four-goal rally had cut the lead to two (15-13). Over the next 90 seconds, the Panthers tried to added their tally and pulled their goalie in order to bolster their attack. The move did not pay off, however, as Foreman's final goal with 29 seconds left sealed the win for the Eagles.
 
Embry-Riddle will be back in action on Saturday, traveling to Boca Raton for another conference game against No. 12 Lynn. That game is scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. start.