MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Saint Leo men's soccer team lost to 24th-ranked Florida Tech, 1-0, on the road in a Sunshine State Conference (SSC) game on Wednesday night. With the loss, the Lions fall to 2-5-2 overall with a 1-1-1 mark in conference play while the Panthers improve to 5-2 behind a 3-0 record in SSC action.

The Lions were quickly on the attack in the first half as they registered shots from freshmen Juan Jimenez and Luis Gaitan in the opening four minutes. Between the 11th and 21st minute, Florida Tech attempted a pair of corner kicks that were stuffed by the Saint Leo defense. As the Panthers maintained possession in their attacking zone, Florida Tech found the net in the 31st minute. At intermission, the Panthers led by a 1-0 margin.

Junior Shotaro Kino kickstarted the second half with a shot attempt in the 49th minute followed by a shot from Gaitan that was wide left in the 54th minute. Freshman Virgilio Escala kept the pressure on Florida Tech with an attempt that was wide to the top right of the net in the 60th minute. The Panthers recorded a pair of corner kicks in the 67th and 69th minute. Senior Arthur Bergami fired an on-goal shot that was saved in the 76th minute while junior Anel Rojas' attempt went wide right in the 84th minute.

Saint Leo out shot Florida Tech 13-7 and also held a 4-3 edge on shots on goal. The Panthers led the game with nine corner kick attempts while the Lions only notched one corner.

Freshman goalkeeper James Knudson tallied two saves in the complete-game effort in the net.

Saint Leo returns to action on Saturday, October 5 as it hosts Nova Southeastern in an SSC matchup, starting at 7 p.m.