MONTEVALLO, Ala. – In the season-opener on the road versus Montevallo, the Saint Leo men's lacrosse team collected a 14-13 following a game-winning goal from junior Zach Kroog with less than two minutes left in the game. With the victory, head coach Brad Jorgensen earned his 150th win while at the helm of the program.

Junior Tristan Leblanc laced the first two goals of the 2025 season for the Lions as they gained a 2-0 lead over the Falcons. Montevallo answered with a goal to trim the deficit to 2-1 at the 10:53-mark. Kroog notched an unassisted goal to extend the Green and Gold lead to 3-1, however, the Falcons scored three consecutive times to grasped their first lead of the game. Sophomore Brayden Stellwagen tied the game at 4-4 with a goal with two and a half minutes left in the first frame.

Both teams split six goals in the second quarter as the game remained deadlocked. 7-7, at halftime. The Falcons opened the third quarter on a 4-1 run as they lead by an 11-8 margin. The Lions registered a pair of goals to finish out the frame as junior John Raucci and Leblanc found the net, each off an assist from junior Aiden Knoetgen.

Junior Ben Baker tied the game 11-11 with a man-up unassisted goal less than 30 seconds into the final quarter before Montevallo scored a goal two minutes later as it held a slight 12-11 edge. Knoetgen found the net posted his second goal of the season off a dish from classmate Thomas Nelan, 12-12. More than six minutes later, the Flacons scored with 4:18 remaining, however, Knoetgen tied the game at the 2:08-mark to help set up Kroog with his game-winner less than a minute later.

Knoetgen led the Lions offensive charge with five points, featuring three goals and a pair of assists. Leblanc laced four goals while Baker and Kroog finished the game with two goals each. Stellwagon notched one goal and one assist. Additionally, Raucci and freshman Maverick Chernoff each posted a goal. Freshman Anderson Smith dished out a trio of assists while Nelan registered two assists. Junior Owen Wills caused a game-high seven turnovers and collected five ground balls. Sophomore Andrew Graham earned seven ground balls while Nelan also tallied five ground balls. Junior Jimmy McGonigle recorded four ground balls and caused a pair of turnovers. In faceoffs, Graham went 13-for-20 and in the net, junior Drew Wheeler tallied eight saves to earn the victory.

Saint Leo returns to the field on Sunday, February 16 as it hosts #18 Rockhurst in a non-conference battle, starting at 2 p.m.