PENSACOLA, Fla. (Women’s Soccer) – It was a tall order the Florida Tech women’s soccer team faced Friday night in Pensacola, taking on the #2 team in the country in the University of West Florida. After success against some tough preseason competition, the Panthers suffered a 4-0 loss to the home Argonauts.

Just 6:54 into the match, UWF’s Shaneka Gordon took a pass and worked it past Panther keeper Melissa Pyles for the early lead. The Crimson and Gray then made some adjustments and staved off the Argos through the remainder of the period with Paula Lillsjö even forging a scoring opportunity in the first.

However, the home team wouldn’t let up in the second half, posting three goals on 10 shots to hold on for victory.

“We went up there knowing it wasn’t going to be easy,” said head coach Fidgi Haig. “We got out-powered physically and it took us a while to adjust to their speed.

“In the first half we didn’t challenge them too much because I think we were intimidated,” Haig added. “In the second we made adjustments, but at the end of the day they were the superior team. I wanted to play that game to let the girls see what we needed to do to close the gaps and we’ll move on from here.”

The Panthers hit the road next weekend for a pair of match-ups in Milledgeville, Ga. First up is a neutral game against Armstrong Atlantic at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, followed by a showdown with Georgia College & State University at 2:30 p.m. that Sunday.

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