Steinbrenner alums Natalie Jones 3G and Zoey Lind 3G/1A, Bartram alums Marina and Aubrie Dean 2G/1G for Saint Leo

via Saint Leo press release/website, by Jonathan Glass | Director of Athletic Communications

BOX SCORE

SAINT LEO, Fla. – The 24th-ranked Saint Leo University women’s lacrosse team dominated from start to finish on Saturday afternoon. The Lions used an 11 goal-first quarter to secure a 25-3 victory over the University of Montevallo at University Turf Stadium. Senior attacker Fiona McLaughlin set a new program career record with her second point of the game. With the win the Lions improved to 6-4 on the season.

McLaughlin’s second goal of the game gave her sole possession with 178 career points as the all-time points leader in Saint Leo women’s lacrosse program history. The senior passes Leslie Ferguson (2016-19) who tallied 177 points in her four-year career in the Green and Gold.

Fourteen Lions combined to score 25 goals in what is became the largest margin of victory for the Lions in program history with a 22 goal advantage. Jana Nuss led the game with five goals, Natalie Jones and Zoey Lind both tallied hat tricks. McLaughlin, Sophia Wood, and Marina Dean all had a multi-goal game. Eight additional Lions found the back of the net in the victory. Olivia Purdy and Gianna Hermann both scored their first collegiate goals.

#24 SAINT LEO 25, MONTEVALLO 3

• Saint Leo was dominant from the start as Jana Nuss quickly put the Lions up 2-0 with back-to-back goals to open the game. Nuss scored her first goal just 24 seconds into the game and about a minute later had the home team up by two.
• McLaughlin scored her first goal of the game to give the Lions a 3-0 lead. Just 20 seconds spanned between Briana Bellando’s first goal of the game and McLaughlin’s record setting goal.
• The Lions tacked on six goals over the final nine minutes of the opening quarter that included women up goals by Nuss, Ava Valenti, and Maria Palomba. Valenti’s goal turned on the running clock that was never turned off.
• Down by 11 after the first 15 minutes, Montevallo’s Jenna Piazza found the back of the net for the Falcons first score of the game.
• Saint Leo responded with three straight goals including a women up goals by Jones and Nuss and a third goal by Abby Fortuna.
• Late in the first half, the Falcons score their second goal making it a 14-2 advantage for the Green and Gold.
• Emma Buthorn scored the final goal of the first half with 2:04 remaining to begin a 7-0 run by the Lions that spanned the final three quarters.
• Saint Leo kept the Falcons off the board in the third quarter. Jones and Fortuna teamed up twice on back-to-back scores  to give the Lions a 17-2 lead.
• Zoey Lind scored two of her three goals in the fourth quarter as the Lions lead grew to nearly 20 goals.
• Aubrie Dean’s first goal of the season gave the Lions their first 20-goal lead of the season.
• The final two goals of the game came in the final two minutes as both Gianna Hermann and Olivia Purdy tallied unassisted goals for their first collegiate goals of their careers.

UP NEXT
Saint Leo hits the road next week to close out the second month of the season at Rollins (March 30).