SAINT LEO, Fla. – No. 15 Saint Leo men's lacrosse used a 7-0 start to upset No. 7 New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) before holding on for an 18-10 win over the visiting Bears. The Lions improve to 4-0 after the top-15 showdown at University Turf Stadium. 

The national contest marked a new record for Saint Leo's single game record book. With 24 saves, goalie Thomas Tatarian set the program's single game save record after facing 48 shots in the full 60 minutes of play. Tatarian picked up two more saves than previous record-holders, Austin Ford (2006) and David Erdman (2007).

Jake Gilmour racked up six points with four goals, two assists. Kyle Pauwels earned four points with three goals and an assist.

"It is who we are," explained head coach Brad Jorgenson. "Coming out and running hard, pushing the ball isn't new for us, it is the way we play. Our game plan just happened to work today."

"Tom had a day," continued Jorgenson. "The defensive came together as a whole and they played as whole. You have to give the assist to the defenders. A lot of the shots that Tom saw where contested shots by our defensive so they were not clean looks to the goal. It is easy to focus on the offensive piece but the defense played a great game."

Jorgenson concluded looking towards March 3 at  No.11 Mount Olive, "We have to enjoy this win and then forget it really quickly. Mount Olive is a regional game. As big as this game is and as good as I feel right now, next week means more. If we want to go to the NCAA Regional tournament it is a game that we are going to have to have. I hope the guys enjoy this win in the next 24 hours and then we will get back to work."

The Basics
Final Score: #15 Saint Leo Lions 18, #7 NYIT 10
Location: Saint Leo, Fla. | University Turf Stadium  
Records: SLU (4-0)| NYIT (1-3)
 
How It Happened...
1Q | Seven straight Saint Leo goals by the eight minute mark electrified University Turf Stadium. Kyle Pauwels tallied two in the streak while Bruce Preeschl, Anthony Visintin, Daniel Sparks, Jordan Williams and Jake Gilmour all netted one. Julian Taylor assisted three of the seven goals. Philip Buque and Zach Lysyk joined the fun before the end of the end of the first quarter. | Saint Leo 9-2 |
2Q | After 11 goals in the first 15 minutes, only combined goals marked up the scoreboard in the second quarter. The Bears scored their third goal a man up. Saint Leo answered with two assisted goals, 11-3. NYIT regained momentum and tallied two more goals, the first unassisted, the second a man up. | Saint Leo 11-5 |
3Q | Saint Leo scored four more goals in third while NYIT scored three. Lions goals were scored by Kyle Pauwels assisted by Joe Serrechia, Charlie Kurtenbach assisted by Jake Gilmour, a man up goal by Zach Lysyk assisted by Anthony Visintin and an unassisted goal by Philip Buque. |Saint Leo 15-8 |
4Q | Five more goals peppered the scoreboard in the remaining 15 minutes. Saint Leo was the first to score followed by a NYIT goal, answered by the Lions, re-answered by the Bears and finally another goal by the Lions for the eight goal victory. | Saint Leo 18-10 |
 
Points to Note

• Goalkeeper Thomas Tatarian earned single game school record with 24 saves.
• Jake Gilmour earned six points from four goals, two assists.
• Kyle Pauwels earned four points from three goals and an assist.

For NYIT

• LeRoy Halftown earned four points from three goals and an assist.
• Matt Chanenchuk earned two goals.
• Three Bears shared the goalkeeping responsibilities. Jake Mellen took the loss after tallying two saves, allowing eight goals. Brian Jockers took over, working for 42:56 minutes, earning six saves, allowing ten goals. Philip Grella III finished the final minutes in net.

 
Up Next
Saint Leo will travel to No. 11 Mount Olive on Saturday, March 3 for a 12:00 p.m. faceoff.
 
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.