LAKELAND, Fla. - The Florida Southern College men's soccer team fell 3-0 to Saint Leo University in Sunshine State Conference action on Sunday evening after pushing the game due to Hurricane Helene from Saturday night.
The Moccasins (2-2-2, 0-2-0 SSC) and the Lions (2-5-2, 1-1-1 SSC) struggled to find the momentum in the first half as Saint Leo had four shots while FSC had just one that came early from
George Spencer to open the game in the 15th minute.
The Lions' only shot on goal was saved by the Mocs keeper
Joe O'Shaughnessy to leave the game scoreless after 20 minutes of action. It was a back-and-forth rally on the pitch for the remainder of the first half as Saint Leo put up two more shots to head into the locker room.
Out of the break, both the teams made several lineup changes and it was just what the Lions needed, scoring in the 50th minute to take an early 1-0 lead to open the second half. FSC felt the pressure from the goal as Mocs defender
Pablo Overfeld took a shot to try and get something going just missing after a corner. Forward
Darcy Moffat, who already has six goals on the year, took advantage of a Saint Leo foul missing just left of the goalpost to remain scoreless.
Despite Florida Southern taking advantage of offside calls and fouls against the Lions, Luis Gaitan sent a shot flying into the hands of the Mocs keeper O'Shaughnessy. Arthur Bergami was there to hit the second goal off the keeper's save as it bounced back in the 66th minute to take a 2-0 lead.
Again, FSC continued to pressure the Lions, this time from midfielder
Felix Tonne who had the first shot on goal hitting to the bottom left of the box into Saint Leo's keeper James Knudsen. Tonne let his second shot on goal rip as Knudsen stretched right to leave the Mocs scoreless on the board. FSC had another two shots from
Dylan Lowther and
Sonny Albert but Saint Leo was able to put another goal on the board in the final minute to win 3-0 on Berend Field.
The Mocs outshot the Lions in the second half 6-to-5 but Saint Leo's five shots on goal to the Mocs two is what won them the game. FSC also had two corners, while both keepers finished with two saves. Saint Leo played an aggressive game collecting 18 fouls while the Mocs had just eight.
Florida Southern is scheduled to face Eckerd College on Wednesday, Oct. 2 in St. Petersburg. The game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
