SAINT LEO, Fla. – The fourth-ranked and two-seed Saint Leo University women's lacrosse team hosted its first Sunshine State Conference semifinal game on Thursday night. The Lions earned a first-round bye and waited for their opponent in the second round. Saint Leo's opponent, the #6 Tampa Spartans, came to town with the Lions, hoping to put up a second win over the Spartans in 2026. The Spartans had a different plan, and they used an eight-goal first half to earn a 15-9 win and a spot in the SSC Finals on Sunday. Saint Leo saw its eight-game home win streak come to an end on Thursday night as the Lions fell to 14-4 overall and the Spartans improved to 12-3 overall.
 
The Lions out shot the Spartans, 33-27, and held a 17-11 advantage in ground balls, but Tampa controlled the draw circle 19-8 and converted eight free-position goals. Holly Hill led Saint Leo with three goals, while Natalie Jones added two goals. Sophia Wood, Jana Nuss, Anna Wood, and Marina Dean each scored once. Anna Wood added a team-high five ground balls and three draw controls, while Sophia Wood totaled three ground balls and three caused turnovers as well as assisting in her sister, Anna's goal in the second quarter. Meredith Eitel caused three turnovers defensively. Jessica Harclerode made five saves in goal.
 
#6 TAMPA 15, #4 SAINT LEO 9
Hill opened the scoring at the 12:02 mark of the first quarter to give Saint Leo an early 1-0 lead, but Tampa answered with three straight goals from Howell. The Spartans scored twice on man-up free-position chances before adding another free-position goal late in the quarter to take a 3-1 lead after the first.
 
Tampa stretched the run to 4-0 early in the second before Saint Leo responded with three straight goals. Anna Wood scored a man-up with help from her sister Sophia Wood. Hill followed with a man-up free-position goal, and Nuss tied the game at 4-4 with 5:35 left in the half. The Spartans answered with three straight goals to regain control before Dean converted a man-up free-position shot to cut the deficit to 7-5. Tampa closed the half with a man-down free-position goal to take an 8-5 lead into halftime.
 
The Lions came out strong in the third quarter as Jones scored at 9:54 and Sophia Wood followed less than a minute later to pull Saint Leo within one, 8-7. Tampa responded with the final three goals of the quarter, including two from Howell, to take an 11-7 lead into the fourth.
 
Tampa pushed the lead to 13-7 in the fourth before Saint Leo made one final push. Jones scored on a free-position shot with 5:07 remaining, and Hill added her third goal less than a minute later to make it 13-9. The Spartans closed the game with a pair of to seal the 15-9 final.

UP NEXT
Saint Leo will now wait to find out its NCAA Regional plans when the selection show airs on May 3. The show will be streamed live at a time to be determined on NCAA.com.

                                                                                                                                       
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