MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Lynn men's soccer team lost its second round NCAA Tournament match against Florida Tech, 2-1, Saturday night. Luis Kiefer started the scoring to give Lynn a 1-0 lead at the half. However, the Panthers scored in the second half to force overtime. The seventh seeded Fighting Knights gave up a goal to the second seed with just five minutes remaining in the second overtime.
 
Lynn's 2023 campaign ends with a 10-3-6 record.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lynn hit two posts and came close on two other opportunities in the 4^th minute
- Goalkeeper Luca Clavero saw his first action on a dead-center shot from outside the 18 in the 24^th minute
- Fabio Menzel sent a long left-footed pass from the corner that Luis Kiefer was able to head in to give Lynn a 1-0 lead at 36:13
- Clavero saved a hard free kick from just outside the 18 at 40:34 to preserve Lynn's 1-0 lead
- Clavero made an easy save on a rolling shot at 50:20 and then made a tough foot save on a tight shot just two minutes later at 52:44
- FIT tied the match on a header by Andrea Pisaneschi in the 62^nd minute
- Ricardo Packer Jr. centered a pass that Max Lambertz was able to run into with a heavy shot that was saved in the 65^th minute
- Clavero made two stellar saves in the 76^th minute, diving to stop a shot by Jacopo Ghezzi from just inside the 18 and stopping a rebound right in front of the net by Joeran Osland
- Following a corner kick, Clavero made his final save of regulation up close again in the 82^nd minute
- With the score knotted 1-1 through 90 minutes, the match extended to two 10-minute overtimes
- The Panthers took the only two shots of the first overtime, with neither attempt reaching target
- Lynn played a man down in the second overtime and was able to manage two corner kicks within the first four minutes
- On the Fighting Knights second corner, Kiefer fired a high shot that the Panthers goalie was able to reach up and catch
- FIT took the lead in the 106^th minute with some tight passing from inside the 18 and a header by Ettore Casadei
 
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS:
- Kiefer scored his team-leading sixth goal of 2023 in the loss
- Kiefer posted two shots on goal, while Lambertz and Kymani King each tallied a SOG
- Clavero made a career-high nine saves
- Clavero, Menzel, Marco Costa, Ali Koller and Lukas Rietzler played all 110 minutes