SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo men's lacrosse team hit the road for the first time of the season on Saturday afternoon, and they return home with a win under their belts after taking down Shorter, 17-7.
The Lions were led by senior Dylan Yonts, who tallied a season-high six goals, while adding one assist. Saint Leo also won 20 of 28 face-offs, led by Will Cothron, who won 19 of 25.
The Basics
Final Score: Saint Leo 17 | Shorter 7
Location: Ben Brady Field | Rome, Ga.
Records: Saint Leo 2-1 | Shorter 1-3
How It Happened
1Q | Saint Leo saw sophomore Jake Gilmour start the scoring for the Lions as he tallied a hat trick in the opening period, scoring the Lions first three goals. His opening goal was assisted by Anthony Visintin. However, Shorter was scrappy in the opening period, matching Saint Leo through the first seven minutes, as the game was tied 2-2. However, Gilmour's third goal saw the Lions pull away, and a goal from Dylan Yonts from Matt Scharr just a minute later gave the Lions a 4-2 lead. Yonts added another off a pass form Chad Marino, before Shorter scored the final of the period. | Saint Leo 5-3 |
2Q | Just six second into the period, Joe Donnian tacked on another for the Lions. He was followed by Marino who added a goal of his own. Donnian then dished the ball to Yonts, who tallied his third of the game on a man-up goal. Marino added his second goal of the game to give the Lions a 9-3 lead. The Lions held Shorter scoreless in the quarter as keeper Dave Moore made two saves, and the Lions caused four turnovers, two coming from Eric Lee. | Saint Leo 9-3 |
3Q | Shorter opened the second half firing, taking the first shot, but it was saved by Moore. The Hawks picked up the ground ball, and maintained possessions, seeing Aswan Bland score their own goal of the period. The Lions responded with Matt Weller, who netted his first goal of the game. Scharr followed with his first goal of the game before dishing an assist to Yonts to make the score 12-4. Yonts would go on to score his fifth and sixth goals of the game, the first coming off an assist from Gilmour, and his final goal coming from Donnian. | Saint Leo 14-4 |
4Q | Yonts tallied an assist to open the period as he dished the ball to Jason D'Aoust who added number 15 for the Lions. Just a minute later, Visintin got himself on the board off a pass from Marino. At the 9:31 mark, the Lions saw keeper Thomas Tatarian take over in the goal. Saint Leo added their 17th goal on Dan Daley's second career goal off an assist from Conner Knaresboro. From there the Hawks would score the final three goals of the period to bring the game to close. | Saint Leo 17-7 |
Points to Note
- Yonts, who started the season 6th in career goals scored, has now moved up to 4th all-time with 80 career goals. He also moved into tied 5th place position in career points with 105.
- Cothron picked up 10 ground balls against Shorter, which gives him 23 on the season. Cothron entered the season in 3rd in career ground balls with 228. He now holds sole passion of 2nd place with 251. He trails the leader, Mike Del Buono, by 51.
- Eric Lee caused three turnovers in his first start for the Lions, while picking up two ground balls.
- Moore saw a little over 50 minutes of action, recording 10 saves in that time.
- As a team, the Lions went 4-4 on man-up attempts.
Up Next
Saint Leo returns home for a 1PM showdown with Pfeiffer on March 5.
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo men's lacrosse team, 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.
