Saturday was Florida Tech’s graduation, but senior Savannah Oxley didn’t buy a cap and gown. 

That was because it was also the NCAA division II women’s soccer championship at Weidner Field, and Oxley knew her team would be there. 

It was good intuition because No. 3 Florida Tech held No. 4 Franklin Pierce scoreless while putting up three goals, two in the second half, to win its first Division II women’s soccer championship in program history. 

“We knew it was our last game, but we didn’t want to play like it was our last game,” Oxley said. “Coach told us to play it like any other game and to do what we do and we did it. I’m super proud of how we played.”

“It’s just an unbelievable win for the team, the program, the school,” Panthers coach Katy Freels said. “This is a special team, we’ve known that for a while. And it’s so amazing to see their character rewarded in this way. Unbelievable group and I’m so proud of them.”

The Panthers’ goalkeeper Kaitlin Sinkler had seven saves, three in the first half and four in the second, to earn tournament MVP. Florida Tech (17-3-6) beat defending champion No. 2 Cal Poly Pomona 1-0 in the semifinals.

“Kaitlin’s one of the most natural leaders we’ve come across in how she carries herself,” Freels said. “She commands respect from everyone, but does it in such a sincere and genuine way. She’s so confident in who she is. She really does it all.” 

This was the second time the two teams met this season, the first ending in a 1-1 tie. 

Panthers senior Lauryn Wood scored the first goal of the game in the 13th minute off an assist from Alice Mottershead who shot across the goal to put Wood right on target. Wood left the game in the 38th minute after a collision with Franklin Pierce’s Sam Breton and did not return for the rest of the game. 

“She’s a senior and our other closest friend so it was a bit rattling,” Oxley said of Wood’s injury. “It was nerve-racking to not have her on the field, but it was one of those things where we were going to do it for her since she wasn’t able to finish the game.”

The Ravens (17-3-5) had a handful of opportunities to score early in the second half. But it was Florida Tech’s Peyton White who scored next in the 73rd minute off a pass from teammate Rio Naganawa to put the Panthers up 2-0. 

Despite Franklin Pierce’s increased pressure on defense in the second half, a pass from Mottershead allowed Naganawa to find open space in the 87th minute to extend the Panthers lead to 3-0. 

A shot to the back center of the net by Breton in the 88th minute nearly gave the Ravens a last-chance point, but a clutch save by Sinkler sealed the shutout and the historic championship for Florida Tech. 

“It feels amazing,” Sinkler said. “We knew we had a big opportunity this year going into it. There’s five of us who were here the last time we made it to the final four, and having that energy and knowing that for a lot of us it was our last year together, we wanted to take advantage of it and give it our all.”

Sinkler saw dedication as the team’s biggest strength Saturday, and throughout the whole season. Whether it’s missing graduation or pushing through Colorado weather, this Florida Tech team did what it needed to do to make history.

“Coach told us to do whatever we can and we are sitting here with chapped lips and bum knees and I would say we did that, we fought to the end,” Sinkler said. “We knew it would be tough but if we put our minds to it we could do it together.”