#5 Mocs Hold Off #21 Lions on the Road

SAINT LEO, Fla. – The No. 5 Florida Southern College women's lacrosse team traveled to and defeated No. 21 Saint Leo University by a final score of 17-10 on Wednesday night at University Turf Stadium.
 
The Moccasins (12-2, 3-1 SSC) overcame an early deficit, eventually overtaking the host Lions (9-5, 1-3 SSC) with a strong second half.
 
Senior goalkeeper Sydney O'Neill earned her second win in as many games, making nine saves on the night to lead Florida Southern to the road victory.
 
Seniors Jackie Stoller and Madison Tare led the team offensively, each scoring four goals, while fellow senior Lizzy Lynch totaled five points, notching a hat trick of her own in the process.
 
Junior Abby McFerren filled the stat sheet, logging four ground balls, three draw controls, and a pair of caused turnovers to go along with a goal and an assist.
 
The Lions got out to the early lead, taking a 2-0 lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter before the Moccasins bombarded the Lions' defense.
 
Florida Southern didn't score until there were just under seven minutes remaining in the first quarter, but the team was able to find the back of the net five times before the horn sounded at the end of the quarter.
 
Hailey Daleo, Madison Tare, Sammy Gorrasi, and Lynch each scored to give the Moccasins a 4-2 lead before the Lions answered, trimming the deficit to just one.
 
McFerren scored a buzzer-beater at the end of the frame to give the Mocs a 5-3 lead heading into the second quarter.
 
Stoller scored in the opening minute of the frame to give Florida Southern a seemingly commanding lead 6-3, but the Lions roared back to tie the game with three unanswered tallies over the course of the next several minutes.
 
The Moccasins were able to close out the second quarter in similar fashion as they did in the initial frame, with Tare scoring again, and Stoller tacking on two goals, including a buzzer-beater at the half.
 
With a 9-6 lead coming out of the halftime break, the Moccasins dominated the third quarter despite the Lions scoring the first goal of the period.
 
Tare, Lynch, and Stoller scored in the back half of the third quarter before Gina Verrone tallied to give Florida Southern a 13-7 lead headed into the final frame.
 
In her 70^th career game, Verrone, a graduate student defender, scored her first career goal and earned her first career point on a free-position shot late in the quarter.
 
The Moccasins were able to coast to victory over the course of the fourth quarter, despite a comeback bid from the home team. The Lions scored twice in the early-goings of the frame to cut the deficit to four, but the Mocs were able to fend off the attack and responded with more offensive prowess to put the game on ice.
 
Daleo, Lynch, Tare, and Olivia Manghisi each scored in the fourth quarter to give the Moccasins a 17-10 lead, a score line that stayed the same until the final horn.
 
Florida Southern will now turn their attention to Saturday afternoon, when they'll host No. 13 Embry-Riddle in a battle between two Sunshine State Conference teams with identical records, sitting at 12-2 and 3-1 in the SSC.
 
The first draw control is set for 1 p.m. at Berend Field this Saturday.
  Read Full Article