(NORTH CANTON, Ohio) – A slow start hurt Walsh as it fell in its home opener to Florida Tech by a score of 9-5 on a chilly Saturday evening. The Cavaliers (0-2) and Panthers (3-1) were playing the game North Canton Hoover's Memorial Stadium because of poor field conditions at Walsh's Vasco Field.

The game was much closer than the score indicated, however, as Walsh was close to tying the game on a few occassions in the third period.

The cold weather didn't appear to bother Florida Tech at first as it scored the game's first five goals. It wasn't until the 1:43 mark of the second quarter that the Cavaliers finally got on the scoreboard with a goal by Bryan Crim (So., Reading, PA/Exeter).

It sparked a big momentum change that the Cavs needed and it transferred into the second half. Walsh scored the first three goals of the third quarter to cut its deficit to one. Ryan Martin (Fr., Oswego, NY/HS) put in the first score on a man-up opportunity at 12:31. Crim followed up with a goal on an assist from Frank Savena (Fr., Broadview Heights, OH/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) at the 10-minute mark, and Collin Trankel (Fr., Apple Valley, MN/HS) scored on a pass from Matthew Ragan (So., Philadelphia, PA/Northeast) to make the score 5-4.

The Panthers then took advantage of a Walsh penalty to score unassisted, but the Cavs answered with a man-up goal of their own as Nicholas Castorf (So., Holbrook, NY/Sachem) put one between the pipes thanks to an assist from Crim with 2:06 left in the third.

The momentum then slowly went back to the other side of the field as Tech scored a goal just under a minute later. In the fourth, the visitors from the Sunshine State controlled the tempo for the rest of the game to limit Walsh's chances while they added a pair of insurance goals.

Crim had a strong outing as he scored two goals and an assist. He took 11 shots with seven of them on target.

Dylan Ciolino (So., Nesconset, NY/Sachem North) played another impressive game in goal as he made 16 saves on 37 shots faced.

The Cavaliers now set their sights on a quartet of conference games to close out the month of March. First up is a trip to the Mountain State to play Ohio Valley University on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game is scheduled to be played at Parkersburg High School's historic Stadium Field.