MELBOURNE, Fla. – In its Sunshine State Conference (SSC) opener, the 19th-ranked Saint Leo men's lacrosse team lost 10-8 on the road at Florida Tech on Saturday afternoon.
The Lions scored within the first minute as sophomore
Aidan Knoetgen found the back of the net off a dish from classmate
John Raucci at the 14:37-mark. However, neither team scored in the following nine and a half minutes until the Panthers tied the game 1-1 with 4:37 remaining in the first quarter.
The Green and Gold kickstarted the second frame with a pair of goals first from sophomore
Zach Kroog off a feed from freshman
Marc Bartolomucci before senior
Michael Flores laced a score unassisted to give Saint Leo a 3-1 lead. However, Florida Tech finished the first half on a three-goal run as it led by a 4-3 margin at intermission.
The Panthers built a 5-3 advantage at the start of the third quarter which was quickly answered with a score from Knoetgen and senior
Guy Bistrow as the game was deadlocked at 5-5. With a little over two minutes left in the third frame, Florida Tech scored before sophomore
Greg Palmer countered with a goal of his own and tied the game at 6-6 heading into the final quarter. Florida Tech scored a trio of goals in the opening five minutes of the fourth frame to lead 10-6. Sophomore
Matthew Cleary registered a goal with 8:29 left in regulation by way of Knoetgen followed by Knoetgen lacing a score at the 7:44-mark.
Knoetgen led the Lions with three goals and one assist while he also collected two ground balls and caused one turnover. Cleary finished the game with one goal and one assist while Bistrow, Palmer, Flores, and Kroog tallied one goal each. Flores posted six ground balls and went 14-for-20 during faceoffs. Sophomore
James Davies notched four ground balls and one caused turnover while graduate student
Dominic Muscella forced two turnovers and co0llected three ground balls.
In the net, senior
Chase Strait recorded 13 saves in the complete-game effort.
The Lions return to action on Saturday, March 30 as they travel to face Lynn in a SSC showdown at 4:30 p.m.
