Lions suffer double helping of defeat courtesy of Panthers

St Leo had to chances on Saturday to beat Florida Tech (#16), but neither the Lions' women or men could get the job done at University Field.

The St Leo women (3-2-1) traded goals with the visiting Panthers (9-2-0) in the first half, before Florida Tech scored three unanswered goals to put the game out of reach. Tech opened the scoring in the twenty-third minute when Kelly Whittaker put her shot past St Leo keeper Cristina Coca.

The Lions out shot the Panthers in the first half seven to six and they were able to draw level in the thirty-seventh minute thanks to a penalty kick drawn by St Leo's leading scorer Hannah Beard. Sara Macko stepped up to convert the spot kick and the two teams were level at one. The Panthers then poured on the heat and went back ahead before halftime. In the thirty-ninth minute, Tech's Alyssa Esposito knocked in the visitor's second goal.

After halftime, Florida Tech extended their lead in the sixty-sixth minute as DeeDee Newland put the host down 3-1. St Leo defender Dari Alcantara received her second yellow in the span of ten minutes and was sent off in the sixty-ninth minute. This allowed Florida Tech to dictate the rest of the match and then they pushed their lead to 4-1 in the eighty-third minute of play with a goal by Teresa Brantley.

The Lions got one goal back with seconds left in the match as Pia Soesemann assisted on Hannah Beard's seventh goal of the year, but St Leo still lost 4-2.

The St Leo men (3-6-0) dropped a frustrating game, where they out shot Tech 24-15. Neither team could score in the first half of play, but St Leo was able to open the scoring in the sixty-eighth minute when top scorer, Jonathan Glenn assisted on a goal by Leonardo Noguiera, his second of the season.

The Panthers (6-5-0) answered in the eighty-sixth minute with a goal by Timothy McRae, which sent the match into overtime. Just a minute into the overtime period, McRae sunk the Lions when he found Stanley Abada in the Lions' penalty area with a free kick. The Panthers had completed their stunning turnaround to win 2-1.

The loss keeps the St Leo men rooted to the bottom of the Sunshine State Conference table and allowed Florida Tech their first conference win of the year. Next up for the Lions will be a Tuesday evening match against non-conference foe Thomas University at home. Their next conference game is next Saturday night at home to Lynn University.

The St Leo women travel to meet non-conference Palm Beach Atlantic on Tuesday and then return home to host Lynn University on Friday night in their next conference match up.