LAKELAND, Fla. – In the most dramatic fashion possible, the No. 20 Saint Leo men's lacrosse team took down Florida Southern, 9-8, in a double overtime battle, that saw freshman Justin Robinson tally the game winner as the horn was about to sound, giving the Lions the game.

While Robinson's game winner sealed the game, it was senior Joe Donnian's fourth quarter goal that gave the Lions the opportunity to even take the game into overtime. After a huge first quarter, the Lions carried a 6-2 lead into halftime behind two goals and an assist from Donnian. The senior, who is usually a man-up specialist, scored all three of his goals on the day in even situations. Donnian, who had 5 career goals coming into his senior season, now has 12 on the year.

Jake Gilmour finished with two goals and an assist, while Robinson finished with two goals and two assists.

The Basics
Final Score: #20 Saint Leo 9 | Florida Southern 8 – 2OT
Location: Bryant Stadium | Lakeland, Fla.
Records: #20 Saint Leo 9-4, 2-3 SSC | Florida Southern 9-8, 2-3 SSC

1Q | The Lions opened up strong in the first quarter as Justin Robinson hit the back of the net just 50-seconds into the game, giving the Lions the lead. Florida Southern evened the score with a Cody Dyer goal. From there, Saint Leo went on a tear as Charlie Kurtenbach netted the next, followed by a Chad Marino goal, and back-to-back Joe Donnian goals to close out the period. | Saint Leo 5-1 |

2Q | A quiet second period for both teams saw Lucas Claude net the first score of the period for the host team, before Jake Gilmour brought the score to 6-2 entering the half. In the first half, the Lions out-shot the Mocs, 21-9. Both keepers made four first half saves. | Saint Leo 6-2 |

3Q | The Lions continued to out shoot the Mocs, taking 11 to their eight, but it was the Mocs who were able to get on the board twice to bring the score closer. FSC's keeper netted seven saves in the period. | Saint Leo 6-4 |

4Q | In a dramatic fourth quarter, the Mocs continued their run, tallying four-straight goals to give them a 8-6 lead. With 3:50 left to play, Donnian found Gilmour, who put in his second of the game, bringing the Lions back within one. It was then Donnian who netted his hat-trick to bring the game back to even with 2:27 left on the clock. The Lions were able to contain the Mocs offense over the final minutes and take the game into overtime | 8-8 |

OT | The Lions controlled most of the first overtime period, taking two shots, both saved by the Mocs keeper. Senior keeper Dave Moore recorded the save on the Mocs lone shot. However, neither team was able to hit the back of the net. | 8-8 |

2OT | Again Saint Leo controlled the period, recording three shots before the Mocs were finally able to clear the ball. On the successful clear attempt, the Mocs saw Claude take a wide open shot, but Moore popped up the save into Josh Kaufling's stick. From there, Saint Leo cleared the ball, and Dylan Yonts found Justin Robinson for the game winner as the buzzer was about to sound. | Saint Leo 9-8 |

Up Next
Saint Leo's post season play is to be determined based on the final of the Lynn versus Florida Tech game. If Lynn wins, Saint Leo will be the No. 3 seed in the Sunshine State Conference tournament. If Lynn loses, there will be a three-way tie between Saint Leo, FSC, and FIT. The tie will be broken by coin flip, and then head-to-head play.

For more information on the Saint Leo men's lacrosse program, 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.

Photo by Taylor Underwood