SAINT LEO, Fla. – Following a two-hour delay, the Saint Leo men's soccer team battled back from two second-half equalizers to secure a 3-2 victory over Emmanuel (Ga.) in its home-opener Thursday night at Jodi Luhn Family Stadium in non-conference action.
The Lions wasted little time finding the scoreboard, taking a 1-0 lead just 2:53 into the contest. Junior
Luis Gaitan finished a pass from classmate
Virgilio Escala to give Saint Leo an early advantage.
Saint Leo maintained the lead through the remainder of the opening half, taking a 1-0 advantage into the break. The Lions outshot the Lions of Emmanuel 4-1 during the first 45 minutes and earned three corner kicks.
Emmanuel evened the contest in the 57th minute. Saint Leo answered just over five minutes later, as Escala scored his first goal of the season at the 62:02 mark off an assist from Gaitan to put the Lions back in front, 2-1.
However, the visiting Lions tied the game in the 64th minute.
Saint Leo continued to pressure the Emmanuel defense and eventually found the decisive goal in the 81st minute. Sophomore
Adrian White buried his first career goal on a pass from senior
William Gregory at 80:11, giving the Lions a 3-2 advantage.
The Saint Leo defense held firm over the final 10 minutes, allowing the Lions to close out the home-opening victory.
Saint Leo finished the night with a commanding 15-4 advantage in shots, including a 7-2 edge in shots on goal. The Lions also held a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks.
Saint Leo returns to action on Saturday, September 5 as it hosts Mars Hill in non-conference play starting at 7 p.m.
