SAINT LEO, Fla. - A balanced team effort helped the Saint Leo men's lacrosse team defeat Lenoir-Rhyne University by a final score of 15-9 on Sunday afternoon at University Field. The Deep South Conference victory helps the Lions advance their record to 5-5, and 4-3 in conference play, while the Bears drop to 2-10, and 0-6 in conference aciton.
Seven different Lions put points on the scoreboard, led by Matt Obermeyer and Ray Ferrara with four goals apiece, with Obermeyer adding an assist to his total for five points on the afternoon. George Proechel earned a game high six points, tallying a hat trick and three assists. Freshmen Chris Caiazza and Kevin Hutchinson earned a goal and an assist each, while Jacob Matenaer and long stick middie Sean Connolly rounded out the scoring efforts with one goal apiece.
Leading the game in ground balls was Robert Hutchinson with six as he won 11-of-19 faceoff attempts. Hutchinson's efforts at the line helped Saint Leo win 15-of-27 on the afternoon, with Ty Trombley going 3-for-6 and Robert Figueroa winning 1-of-2.
The midfield had an all-around solid performance on the day, led by Beau Besancenez, Robert Hutchinson, Sean Connolly, Alex Monteferrant, Larry McLaughlin, Ferrara, and Austin Underwood. Saint Leo won the ground ball battle 35-25, was 18-21 on clear attempts, and caused six turnovers.
A staunch and collected defensive unit held the Bears to just 15 shots on frame out of 33 total shots on the day. Patrick Berry made six saves on the afternoon, and allowed nine goals, three of which were on man-down situations. Overall, the Lions defensive squad held Lenoir-Rhyne to just three goals on five man-up opportunities.
Lenoir-Rhyne put themselves on the scoreboard first thanks to a goal from Imari Davis with 13:13 on the clock in the first half. Proechel evened the score at 1-1 two minutes later, scoring the first of three goals for the Orlando, Fla. native in the first quarter.
Ferrara netted the next two goals for the Lions, including one off of a Proechel assist, pulling the Green and Gold ahead by a score of 3-1 with 5:24 to go in the quarter. Proechel netted the enxt two, and Kevin Hutchinson closed out the period with a goal off of a feed from Proechel with 1:42 to go, giving Saint Leo a sizeable 6-1 advantage after the opening 15 minutes of play.
Saint Leo continued their run with three goals in the second stanza, pulling ahead 9-1, but a late goal from the Bears with 27 seconds before halftime broke the streak, and set the score at 9-2 at the break.
Both teams scored two goals apiece in the third quarter, leaving the score at 11-4 entering into the final period of the day. Saint Leo opened up the fourth quarter with a goal from Ferrara off of an Obermeyer assist, giving the Lions a comfortable 12-4 lead with 14:44 remaining in the game.
Despite the Bears' best efforts, the Lions held onto the lead for the remainder of the contest, and closed out the game with a six-goal lead, 15-9.
The Lions return to action on Wednesday, March 28, when they take on MIT. Game time is slated for 3:30 p.m. at University Field. Fans can get the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo men's lacrosse team by visiting saintleolions.com.
