DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – After rallying from a 5-1 deficit, the Saint Leo men's lacrosse team earned a 13-12 win over Embry-Riddle in a Sunshine State Conference (SSC) matchup on Saturday afternoon.

In the closing minutes with the score knotted at 12-12, sophomore Matthew Cleary found the back of the net off a pass from classmate Greg Palmer at the 3:13-mark that helped seal the win for the Lions.

The Eagles jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first until sophomore Aidan Knoetgen laced a score, assisted by Cleary as Embry-Riddle led 2-1 going into the second quarter. The Eagles extended their lead to 5-1 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the second frame. The Green and Gold answered to cut its deficit to 5-3 with goals from Cleary and sophomore Ben Baker. Sandwiched between a pair of Eagles' goals was a score from Knoetgen in a man-up opportunity before senior Michael Flores and classmate Guy Bistrow blasted goals as the Lions trailed 7-6 at halftime.

To open the third quarter, Saint Leo posted three consecutive goals to claim a 9-7 advantage with Bistrow, sophomore John Raucci, and Knoetgen each registering a goal. Heading into the final quarter, the Green and Gold held a slight 10-9 edge. Both offenses went blow-for-blow as the Eagles tied the game at 12-12 until Cleary's late game heroics gave the Lions the lead followed by the stout Lion defense held the Eagles to just one shot attempt in the last three minutes.

Knoetgen and Cleary each recorded three goals and one assist while Palmer posted two goals and two assists. Bistrow finished the game with two goals. Flores and Baker recorded one goal and one assist each while Raucci posted one score as well. At the X, Flores won 21-of-26 faceoffs and collected 16 groundballs. Palmer and sophomore James Davies recorded three groundballs each. In the net, senior Chase Strait tallied nine saves in the complete-game effort.

The Lions return to action on Wednesday, April 17 as they host Rollins in an SSC contest at 7 p.m.