LAKELAND, Fla. – The ninth-ranked Florida Southern women's lacrosse team scored a season-high 25 goals on its way to the 10
th victory of the season with a 25-17 win over Saint Leo at Berend Field Wednesday night in Sunshine State Conference action.
Patricia Werker earned her sixth win of the season in goal for the Moccasins (10-2, 2-1 SSC) tallying three saves on the night.
Brittany Iamele shared minutes in goal with Werker and had five saves in her 22:28 minutes of action.
Hailey Daleo and
Brenna Smith led the Mocs in points while Daleo was the team leader in goals with six on the day. Smith was one shy of Daleo's mark with five goals while she was second on the team in assists at three.
Abby McFerren, the team's leader in assists through 12 games, tallied four in the game and added two goals for six points.
Madison Tare also tallied six points with a hat-trick of goals and assists.
Abby Hammond paced the team on the defensive end with five caused turnovers and five ground balls while it was
Ellie Griffin who led the way in the circle with a team-best nine draw controls.
Florida Southern's 25 goals, comprised of 10 different scorers, marked the second-most goals in a game in program history, and the first 25-plus goal-game since 2018 when the Moccasins defeated Mount Olive 25-14.
The scoring got underway in the game quickly as
Lizzy Lynch scored her first of three off an assist from
Hailey Daleo to give the Mocs an early 1-0 lead. Daleo would score on a free position shot to push the advantage to 2-0. Saint Leo (5-9, 2-2 SSC) rallied and would cut it to one, 2-1, before
Madison Tare got in the scoring column with her first of the game; 3-1 FSC. The Lions would tie the game at 3-3 with back-to-back goals before Florida Southern closed the period with six unanswered goals from Daleo (2), Smith, Tare,
Katie Yeagle, and
Ellie Griffin for a 9-3 lead.
Florida Southern opened the second period with a pair of goals from Tare and Yeagle before Saint Leo answered with two; 11-4 FSC. The Lions would outscore the Mocs 3-2 to close the half with Florida Southern in control 13-8.
Out of the break, Saint Leo carried the momentum and scored the periods first before the two teams traded a pair of goals; 15-11 FSC. Smith, Daleo, and Yeagle would each score to extend Florida Southern's lead back to 18-11 before the Lions' Fiona McLaughlin scored to stop the eight-minute scoring drought.
Hannah Hale would close the period with a goal for Florida Southern as the home team carried a 19-12 lead to the final period of play.
Florida Southern would score six of the 11 goals in the final frame from Smith (2), Lynch (2), Daleo, and
Olivia Manghisi while Saint Leo scored five of its own, including the final two to bring the game to its final, 25-17.
The Moccasins return to action on Friday, April 15 in Daytona Beach, Fla. when Florida Southern travels to take on No. 14 Embry-Riddle (12-2, 2-2 SSC) in a Sunshine State Conference matchup at 4:00 p.m. inside Embry-Riddle Lacrosse Field.
