SALISBURY, N.C.  – Tournament Most Valuable Player Kyle Marceau tallied four goals to help lead Saint Leo to the 2010 Deep South Conference Lacrosse Tournament Championship with a 9-4 victory over host Catawba on Sunday afternoon at Shuford Stadium.  The Lions win their second straight tourney title and improve to 12-3 on the year.  The Catawba Indians fall to 7-7.

The teams battled through nearly nine scoreless minutes before Saint Leo broke the ice on a goal by Joe Guerin.  Marceau notched his first goal at the 2:21 mark of the opening quarter for a 2-0 edge.  Wayne Carbiener got Catawba on the board, closing the gap to 2-1 with 1:24 left in the frame, but Ray Ferrara restored a two-goal cushion with 28 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Saint Leo out-shot Catawba 14-4 in the opening quarter, but neither team scored again until the closing minutes of the half.  Marceau scored twice in the final 2:38 to push the Lion lead to 5-1 at the break.  His last goal of the quarter came with just 24 seconds remaining.

Marceau made it three goals in a row on a tally just over three minutes into the second half and Guerin upped the lead to 7-1 just a minute and half later.  That margin proved to be enough.  Catawba held a commanding 16-4 edge in shots during the third quarter, but Saint Leo goalie David Erdman picked up eight of his 13 saves to limit the Indians to just a single goal in the period.

Marceau added an assist to go with his four goals for Saint Leo.  Guerin had a pair of goals, while Nick Bova (Eureka, MO) had a goal and two helpers.  Braden Artem led Catawba with two goals.  Josh Liptak recorded nine saves for the Indians.

Catawba finished with a 34-31 edge in shots, including a 24-10 margin in the second half.  Saint Leo led the ground ball battle with a 42-27 advantage and also controlled the face-offs, winning 11 of 17, all by Mike Del Buono.