Box Score LAKELAND – Florida Southern applied pressure to 9th-ranked Saint Leo, but was unable to find the back of the net as the Lions took a 2-0 win on senior night.
FSC seniors Stephen Pratt (Dublin, Ireland), Petter Allansson (Savedalen, Sweden), Clay Clingerman (Auburndale, Fla.), Mitchell Francois (Frisco, Texas), and James Gibson(Cape Coral, Fla.) were all recognized before the game for their accomplishments.
Besides two hiccups in the first 10 minutes of each period, Florida Southern (4-7-3) dominated play for the majority of the game. While the shot totals were even for both sides through the first half, the Moccasins forced Saint Leo (10-1-2) goalkeeper Manuel Schoenhuber to make five saves while the Lions only put one shot on goal. Unfortunately, that one was in the 6th minute off the foot of Henry Adu who gave the Lions a 1-0 lead. They would add an insurance goal in the 54th minute.
The Mocs best chance came in the 34th minute when sophomore Jonathan Radvogin (Vasteras, Sweden) got his shot past Schoenhuber, but a SLU sliding defender kept the ball out of the net right as it reached the goal line. Two minutes later, junior Alexi Cortez (Largo, Fla.) took a shot from the left wing forcing Schoenhuber to leave his feet to preserve his shutout. He needed to make eight saves on 19 shots, both season highs. Cortez had another chance to score in the 15th minute when his cross got through everyone in the box and missed the goal by a foot.
In the second half, Florida Southern continued to pressure the Lions' defense with another 14 shots for a total of 19 in the game, the third highest single-game shot total this season. Only the season-opener against Webber, with 24 shots, and the home game against Tampa, with 22 shots, saw the Mocs take more shots. In addition to outshooting Saint Leo 19-13, the Moccasins held a 14-3 advantage in corner kicks with a 9-0 advantage in the second half.
In the span of 60 seconds in the 51st and 52nd minutes, FSC peppered three shots at Saint Leo: one from sophomores Michael Cortright (Anacortes, Wash.) and Radvogin each. Both shots were blocked before Cortez's shot kept rising and found its way over the crossbar, but made the Lions keeper sweat.
Florida Southern will conclude its season on Saturday when it travels to Barry for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
