WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The tenth-ranked Saint Leo women's lacrosse team earned a dominant victory at Palm Beach Atlantic in Sunshine State Conference action on Saturday afternoon. Three Lions recorded hat tricks, while two others had multi-goal games. With the win, the Lions improve to 11-5 overall and 2-4 in conference play. While the Sailfish fall to 6-9 overall and are still looking for SSC win number one sitting at 0-6 in conference play.
 
Offensively, the Lions were led by Jana Nuss and Holly Hill, a duo that combined for 11 points on the day. Nuss had six points on four goals and a pair of assists while Hill added four goals of her own and an assist for five points. Maria Palomba scored three goals and recorded two assists for five points while controlling a team-high nine draws. Marina Dean and Julia Charvat each scored two goals for two points each. Charvat multi-goal effort marked the first and second goals of her collegiate career. Defensively, the Green & Gold were led by Palomba who recorded two groundballs and caused one turnover. In net, junior Jessica Harclerode made six saves and recorded two groundballs.
 
#10 SAINT LEO 22, PALM BEACH ATLANTIC 9
Saint Leo wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as senior Emma Hayhurst opened the scoring just 50 seconds into the game. Both sides traded goals over the next three minutes, with the Lions holding a 3-2 lead. Saint Leo then scored seven straight goals to end the quarter. Hill recorded a natural hat trick scoring three-straight goals in a two minute and 49 second span. Nuss also completed her hat trick in the opening quarter with back-to-back goals over a five plus minute span.
 
The Lion's firepower continued into the second quarter, with two goals coming in the first five minutes. Charvat scored her first collegiate goal to give the Lions an 11-2 advantage to open the second quarter. Ava Valenti and Nuss followed with goal as the Lions run grew to ten straight goals spanning the first two quarters, as Valenti's goal turned on the running clock. The Sharks scoring drought ended at the 5:02 mark of the second quarter. In the final seconds, Charvat recorded her first collegiate multi-goal game with her second goal of the day to give Saint Leo a 14-3 lead at halftime.
 
Palm Beach Atlantic scored quickly to open the second half, before junior Marina Dean scored her second goal of the day, followed by Palomba's third consecutive hat trick to give the visitors a 16-4 advantage. Hill later scored her fourth goal of the afternoon as Saint Leo spent much of the quarter on cruise control.
 
The Lions entered the final 15 minutes with a solid 18-5 lead. The lead grew as senior Abby Fortuna scored her first goal of the season. The SSC-foes proceeded to trade goals throughout the remainder of the game. Sydney Brown's goal with 6:15 remaining in regulation gave the Lions a 20-7 lead, making the first time in 2025 the Lions scored 20 goals in a game. Sophomore Briana Bellando scored with nine seconds left to give Saint Leo a 22-9 lead.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Leo closes out the regular season at University Turf Stadium on Tuesday evening, hosting the Rollins College Tars. The opening draw is set for 7 p.m.