SAINT LEO, Fla. – In the first round of the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament, the third-seeded Saint Leo women's lacrosse team earned a 15-9 victory at home against sixth-seeded Embry-Riddle on Saturday afternoon to advance to the SSC Women's Lacrosse Semifinals.

The Lions highlighted the first half with a seven-goal run that featured five different players scoring for the Green and Gold with the scoring outburst carrying over to the second half.

To start the game, junior Maria Palomba found the back of the net in a player-up situation before the Eagles scored consecutive goals to claim a 2-1 edge. Saint Leo kickstarted the scoring frenzy at the end of the opening quarter as sophomores Jana Nuss and Sophia Wood laced scores to give the Lions a 3-2 lead heading into the second frame. Wood continued the offensive attack in the second quarter by scoring at the 9:52-mark followed by senior Cassidy Passaro scoring 15 seconds later off a dish from classmate Fiona McLaughlin to stretch the Saint Leo lead to 5-2. McLaughlin scored her first of five goals with 3:39 remaining in the first half before junior Ava Valenti blasted a goal off a feed from Wood as the Green and Gold led by a 7-2 margin at halftime.

McLaughlin scored the first goal of the third quarter as the Lions built an 8-2 advantage. Embry-Riddle answered with a pair of goals to trim its deficit to 8-4 with 10:20 remaining in the third frame. The Lions ended the momentum that the Eagles captured as Palomba posted a goal, assisted by freshman Zoey Lind followed by McLaughlin finding the back of the net to give Saint Leo a 10-4 cushion. Embry-Riddle ended the third quarter with two goals to cut the Lions lead to 10-6 going into the final quarter.

The Lions registered a goal 31 seconds in the fourth frame as McLaughlin scored, unassisted. The Eagles answered to make the score 11-7. Saint Leo tallied three straight goals as freshman Natalie Jones, Nuss, and Valenti found the back of the net as the Green and Gold held a commanding 14-7 lead with 5:49 left to play. The Eagles scored consecutive goals in the last minutes, however, a player-up goal from McLaughlin with 1:27 on the clock, sealed the win for the Lions.

McLaughlin led the Lions with five goals and one assist while Wood tallied two goals and one assist. Both Palomba and Nuss tallied a pair of goals. Passaro registered a goal and dished out an assist while Jones scored a goal and Lind recorded an assist. Palomba also posted a game-high nine draw controls while Meredith Eitel recorded a career-best five caused turnovers in addition to grabbing five groundballs. Junior Julia Sharp notched three caused turnovers and a trio of groundballs. Additionally, Bellando collected two groundballs and forced two turnovers. In the net, sophomore Jessica Harclerode posted 12 saves and grabbed nine groundballs in the complete-game victory.

Saint Leo returns to action on Wednesday, April 25 as it competes in the semifinals of the SSC Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament with a time and opponent to be determined.