UPSET! Rollins Knocks Off No. 17/15 Saint Leo

Rollins (7-3, 1-0 SSC)

12 -

10

No. 17 Saint Leo (7-2, 0-1 SSC)

Box Score

SAINT LEO, Fla. (March 26, 2016) - The Rollins men's lacrosse team earned their second upset victory of the season, knocking off No. 17/15 Saint Leo University by a final score of 12-10 on Saturday evening at University Turf Stadium.

The Tars open up Sunshine State Conference action with their first ever victory over the Lions, and advance their record to 7-3, and 1-0 in SSC play, while the Lions, who checked in at No. 17 on the USILA DII Coaches Poll and No. 15 on the Nike/Inside Lacrosse DII Poll this week, drop only their second game of the season and fall to 7-2, and 0-1 in SSC action.

Morgan Baker set a new career record in goals and points scored, as he netted five goals and one assist for six points overall. Joining Baker on the board were Jack Vonarb with a hat trick, and Carson Buell with three points as he tallied one goal and two assists on the evening. Clay Phillips netted a goal and an assist each, while Alex Petsos and AJ Gogan netted one goal apiece.

In goal, Jake Hogan played a full 60 minutes, earning eight saves as he faced 28 shots and 18 shots on goal from the Lions. Defensively, Zach Gerry led the team in caused turnovers with two, while Alex Petsos led the team in ground balls with six as he went 11-for-23 on faceoffs.

Saint Leo was led by Dylan Yonts, who earned four goals and one assist on the night, while Jake Gilmour matched Yonts in points with five, tallying one goal and a team high four assists. Chad Marino scored a hat trick, while Justin Robinson and Charlie Kurtenbach each scored one goal. Matt Scharr, Matt Weller, and Anthony Visintin each earned an assist on the evening.

In between the pipes for Saint Leo, Dave Moore made a total of eight saves as he faced a total of 27 shots from the Tars in 60 minutes of action. Moore was unable to hold the Tars at bay in the final quarter, as Rollins scored on all five of their shots on goal en route to the victory.

The Lions were the first one the board off of a goal by Kurtenbach with 12:28 on the clock, and pulled ahead to a quick 2-0 lead with a goal by Yonts less than a minute later. Gilmour extended the lead to 3-0 at the 4:40 mark, but an unassisted goal by Baker with 2:12 left in the first quarter put the Tars on the board. Vonarb closed the gap to one with 53 ticks left in the quarter off of an assist by Phillips, and after 15 minutes of play, the Lions held onto a slim 3-2 lead.

Saint Leo opened up the second stanza with a man-up goal with 12:09 on the clock, but Baker answered back 35 seconds later to pull the Tars back to within one, 4-3, and then knotted the game up at 4-4 at the 8:15 mark on a worm burner between Moore's legs.

The Lions pulled back into the lead with a goal by Marino off of an assist by Gilmour at the 4:33 mark, and a last-second goal by Marino at the buzzer gave Saint Leo a 6-4 lead at the half.

Rollins entered into the third quarter with Buell finding the back of the net on an assist by Baker with 14:16 on the clock, but the Lions answered back with two to extend their lead to 8-5 with 8:38 left in the third quarter. The Tars took advantage of a man-up opportunity with a goal at the 7:58 mark as Buell found Phillips for goal to pull the Tars back to within two, 8-6.

Saint Leo netted their ninth of the ninth of the night with 6:05 as Marino notched his third of the evening, but the Tars capitalized on a failed clear by the Lions and Baker netted his fourth of the night on an unassisted goal with 1:14 left in the period to pull Rollins back to within two, 9-7.

Baker pulled the Tars back to within one to open the fourth quarter, finding the back of the net with 12:50 remaining in the game to set the score at 9-8. Gogan gave the Tars the equalizer on an unassisted goal at the 8:14 mark, and Petsos won the ensuing faceoff and took the ball down for a fast-break goal six seconds later to give Rollins the 10-9 lead.

The Lions were not about to back down, with Yonts finding the back of the net with 7:00 left in the game to tie the game at 10-10, but the Tars came out of an injury timeout late in the contest to pull ahead on a man-up goal by Vonarb with 3:17 on the clock.

Saint Leo attempted to pull even once again, but Hogan came up with the stop when it was needed most, and With 27 seconds left in the game, Vonarb capitalized on an open net to seal the deal with a score of 12-10.

The Rollins men's lacrosse team returns home for a Saturday Sunshine State Conference matchup against Lynn University. Game time against the Fighting Knights is slated for 4 p.m. at Barker Family Stadium and Cahall-Sandspur Field. Fans who are unable to attend the game will be able to catch all of the action live on the Geico Tars Sports Network on RollinsSports.com.

For the latest news, updates, and information on the Rollins men's lacrosse team, fans can visit RollinsSports.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest #TARnation news by following Rollins Sports on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.