SSC Men: FSC Handles Saint Leo 21-10 – Both Recaps
via the school’s press releases/websites
#16 Mocs Trample Lions as Nolan Climbs Record Books
LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 16 Florida Southern College men’s lacrosse team continued its winning ways, trouncing Saint Leo University by a final score of 21-10, earning the Mocs’ program-record eighth-consecutive victory.
The Moccasins (10-2, 3-0 SSC) dominated the visiting Lions (7-3, 2-1 SSC) from start-to-finish, earning their third conference victory in as many opportunities to stay atop the standings.
Senior Sean Nolan scored four goals in the victory, effectively overtaking former Moccasin Dane Sorensen (2012-15) as the all-time leading goal-scorer in Florida Southern history. The attacker from Cross River, N.Y. now has 178 career goals in 61 games, passing Sorenson, who amassed 175 tallies over the course of his career.
Defensively, senior Nick Shannon had another monstrous day, scooping seven ground balls to tie his career-high while terrorizing the Lions with five caused turnovers. Shannon now moves to third all-time in career caused turnovers with 79 takeaways as a Moccasin
Junior Michael Simone earned his eighth win of the season, holding the Lions to just 10 goals with twelve saves including just four in the opening 45 minutes of action. He also came away with four ground balls to help his own cause. Saint Leo came into the game averaging over 17 goals per contest.
There were a few other eye-popping stat lines, as freshman Jacob Czyz won 16-of-29 face-offs with 14 ground balls while Sean Nolan tacked on eight, tying his career high.
Nolan broke the Moccasin all-time scoring record quickly, tallying twice in the opening five minutes of the game to give the Mocs an early cushion.
Jay Minor and Lucas Sommers each scored in the opening minutes of play to break open a four-goal lead to start the game. The Lions would go on to answer towards the end of the quarter, but Nolan’s third goal of the day and a late tally from Matt Flammenspeck gave the Moccasins a 6-2 advantage headed into the second quarter.
Minor hit the back of the net again in the opening minute of the frame, and Nolan scored his fourth just moments later to put the team up 8-2. Freshman Nolan Tighe joined in on the scoring onslaught before the Lions finally responded to put the team up 9-2 at the midway point of the second quarter.
Tighe, Minor, and Andrew Medeiros each scored in the closing minutes of the first half to build a 12-3 lead heading into the break.
Medeiros and Minor tallied again to open the third quarter as the Mocs constructed a double-digit lead early in the second half. Jack Frazee scored his second goal of the year to add to the margin while Brydon Robichaud and Kaleb Cook each tacked on tallies to make it 17-4 headed into the final frame.
The Lions were able to amass six goals in the final 15 minutes of play, but the Mocs had the game well in hand headed into the fourth quarter. Flammenspeck and Tighe scored their second and third goals of the game, respectively, to keep Florida Southern ahead by a healthy margin, while sophomore Owen McCusker and senior Ryan Gorecki struck to reach the 20-goal plateau.
The Mocs coasted to victory over the course of the final several minutes of the contest, winning by a definitive 21-10 final score.
With the win, the Mocs continue to be the highest-scoring team in the country, averaging over 20 goals per game. They’ve now won eight straight and will set their sights on two massive in-conference games coming up this week.
The Moccasins will host the No. 8 University of Tampa Spartans this Saturday night at 7 p.m. before traveling to Winter Park, Fla. next Wednesday to face the No. 7 Rollins College Tars at 8 p.m.
Scoring Summary
| 1st Period | F | S | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13:16 |  | #16 FSC – Sean Nolan | 0 | 1 |
| 12:23 | | #16 FSC – Lucas Sommers | 0 | 2 |
| 10:32 | | #16 FSC – Sean Nolan | 0 | 3 |
| 10:09 | | #16 FSC – Jay Minor Assisted by Brendan Glasser | 0 | 4 |
| 04:36 |  | SLU – Guy Bistrow Assisted by Ryan Marek | 1 | 4 |
| 03:12 | | #16 FSC – Sean Nolan Assisted by Cole Williams | 1 | 5 |
| 01:43 | | SLU – John Raucci | 2 | 5 |
| 00:21 | | #16 FSC – Matt Flammenspeck Assisted by Jay Minor | 2 | 6 |
| 2nd Period | ||||
| 14:30 | | #16 FSC – Jay Minor | 2 | 7 |
| 10:10 | | #16 FSC – Sean Nolan | 2 | 8 |
| 09:22 | | #16 FSC – Nolan Tighe Assisted by Sean Nolan | 2 | 9 |
| 08:27 | | SLU – Greg Palmer Assisted by Adem Tekman | 3 | 9 |
| 06:10 | | #16 FSC – Andrew Medeiros | 3 | 10 |
| 05:45 | | #16 FSC – Nolan Tighe | 3 | 11 |
| 01:18 | | #16 FSC – Jay Minor Assisted by Nolan Tighe | 3 | 12 |
| 3rd Period | ||||
| 14:03 | | #16 FSC – Andrew Medeiros | 3 | 13 |
| 12:16 | | SLU – Guy Bistrow Assisted by Greg Palmer | 4 | 13 |
| 08:41 | | #16 FSC – Jay Minor | 4 | 14 |
| 06:31 | | #16 FSC – Jack Frazee Assisted by Mason McQuiggin | 4 | 15 |
| 05:24 | | #16 FSC – Brydon Robichaud | 4 | 16 |
| 01:30 | | #16 FSC – Kaleb Cook | 4 | 17 |
| 4th Period | ||||
| 14:01 | | #16 FSC – Matt Flammenspeck Assisted by Jay Minor | 4 | 18 |
| 12:49 | | #16 FSC – Owen McCusker Assisted by Cole Williams | 4 | 19 |
| 12:04 | | SLU – Adem Tekman | 5 | 19 |
| 09:16 | | SLU – Greg Palmer Assisted by Isaac Wills | 6 | 19 |
| 08:42 | | #16 FSC – Nolan Tighe Assisted by Jay Minor | 6 | 20 |
| 08:11 | | SLU – Guy Bistrow Assisted by Adem Tekman | 7 | 20 |
| 07:40 | | SLU – Seve Cordero Assisted by Justin Williams | 8 | 20 |
| 06:39 | | SLU – Adem Tekman | 9 | 20 |
| 06:30 | | #16 FSC – Ryan Gorecki Assisted by Cole Williams | 9 | 21 |
| 05:17 | | SLU – Guy Bistrow | 10 | 21 |
**********
Lions Fall to #16 Florida Southern 21-10
SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo men’s lacrosse team fall to #16 Florida Southern in a tough matchup on the road.
The Lions now move to 6-4 after the win.
In the first quarter, Guy Bistrow struck first for the Lions.
The Mocs controlled the game for the first half as they scored six goals in each of the first two quarters.
At halftime, Florida Southern had full control with a 12-3 lead.
Coming out of halftime, Bistrow once again was the first to score for Saint Leo.
That was the lone goal of the third with the Mocs answering them with five goals in the third.
In the fourth, the Lions finally outscored the Mocs but it was too little to late as Florida Southern finished on top 21-10.
Guy Bistrow led the Green & Gold in scoring with four goals.
The Lions are back at home against Embry-Riddle University on April 8th at University Turf Stadium. The face off is scheduled for 1:00pm.
For the latest news, updates, and information on Saint Leo Men’s Lacrosse, visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.