SSC Men: FSC Rallies in 4th to beat Saint Leo 18-16 – Both Recaps
via the school’s press releases
Nolan’s Eight Goals Lift #12 Mocs Over Lions
SAINT LEO, Fla. – Junior Sean Nolan of the 12th-ranked Florida Southern men’s lacrosse team scored a career-high eight goals Wednesday night to give the Moccasins a victory in their first road Sunshine State Conference contest of the season at Saint Leo University. Nolan scored eight of the Mocs 18 goals in the 18-16 victory. The win marks the fifth-straight for the Lions ranking as the third longest win streak in program history.
Nolan’s eight goals rank tied for third in the Florida Southern record book for goals in a game, just two behind record holder Dane Sorensen (2012-15) who scored 10 goals in a game against Saint Leo in 2014. He is also tied with Sorensen for third place in goals in a game as Sorensen tallied eight goals at Rollins in 2015.
The victory improves Florida Southern’s record to 9-3 overall and a perfect 3-0 in SSC play while the Lions of Saint Leo fell to 5-4 overall and 0-2 in league action.
Junior Jeff Atlas led the team with five assists while scoring three goals for a total of eight points. Freshman Brendan Glasser notched his first career hat trick with three goals while handing out an assist for a four-point performance.
Junior Maxwell Freestone once again held down the cage making 13 saves in the victory and moving to 7-2 on the season. He also earned a pair of ground balls and caused one turnover. At the ‘X’ senior Kevin Horwitz won 18 of his 36 faceoff attempts and led the team with 13 ground balls.
After an even first half where both teams found the back of the net 10 times, the Lions used a 4-2 advantage in the third to hold a 14-12 lead heading into the final 15 minutes of play. The Mocs continued their strong late game play which they’ve used on a number of occasions this season to come-from-behind in the fourth to win. FSC scored the opening five goals of the fourth quarter to take a 17-14 lead with just over four minutes left to play in the contest. The Mocs picked up one more late goal sandwiched between a pair of Lions goals for a final scored of 18-16.
Shots (46-48), shots on goal (28-29) and turnovers (16-17) were nearly identical between the two squads as both teams battled for the entire 60 minutes.
The Mocs will return to action Saturday, April 9 at 8 p.m. as they travel to top-ranked Tampa for a weekend match-up under the lights. The Spartans defeated the Mocs 16-5 back in February on Berend Field. Florida Southern will look to return the favor Saturday and pick up its second win over a No. 1 ranked team this season.
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Lions Fall to Mocs in Fourth Quarter; Eames Records 5th Straight 7th Point Game
SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo Lions fell 18-16 to the Florida Southern Moccasins Wednesday night inside University Turf Stadium. The tight Sunshine State Conference battle lowered the Green and Gold’s season mark to 5-4, 0-2 in the SSC. Meanwhile, the Mocs extended their win streak to five with a 9-3 overall record, 3-0 in the league.
Saint Leo held a two-goal lead to end the third quarter at 14-12 off a three-goal run. Despite the thrilling end of the third, Florida Southern broke out a five-goal run in the fourth to edge the Green and Gold in the barn-burner.
Tyler Eames recorded his fifth straight seven-point game to pace the Lions’ offensive efforts. Eames netted a hat-trick and assisted in four. He was followed by Peyton Tyson, who found the back of the net five times, and Guy Bistrow, who earned five points from three goals and a pair of assists.
Michael Flores won 18-of-36 faceoffs (.500) and picked up a game-high 15 ground balls.
In goal, Evan Hock ended up on the wrong side of the close game despite earning 10 saves in 60 minutes of work.
On Saturday, April 9, the Lions will travel to Daytona Beach, Fla. to faceoff against the Embry-Riddle Eagles, starting at 1:00 p.m.
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo men’s lacrosse, be sure to 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.
