By: William Burns, Sports Editor
The Saint Leo Lions Men’s Soccer team traveled to Lakeland, Florida, on November 5th, to face the Florida Southern Mocs in their season finale. Saint Leo went into the game with a record of seven wins and nine losses overall, and a conference record of three wins and six losses. The Florida Southern team came with a record of four wins, five losses, and five draws overall, and two wins, three losses, and four draws in the conference. Florida Southern was ranked sixth in the conference, just two above Saint Leo, who ranked eighth.
This game was interrupted by a lightning delay, which ultimately played a huge part in the momentum of the game. The Saint Leo Lions struck first and fast, as less than ten minutes had passed before Elias Niesigk netted a shot for the Lions. This shot was assisted by Federico Toschi, who in his first season as a Lion, has been a standout on the squad.
After the delay, the Lions held off the Mocs for most of the game, until the 77th minute, when Florida Southern gained a second wind and slipped a shot past Senior Keeper Christian Evans to tie the game. Several minutes later, James Meehan of Florida Southern nailed his second goal of the night, putting the Lions away and sending the Mocs to the SSC tournament.
Florida Southern destroyed Saint Leo with shots, as they got off sixteen compared to the Lion’s six. This loss ended the Lions season and they finished with a final record of seven wins and ten losses overall, and three wins and seven losses in the conference. This is a major upgrade from the 2018 season, when the Lions won only three games overall, and lost all ten conference play games. The Lions had a new coaching staff this year, and also had some stunning transfer talent.
Toschi, a junior in his first season with the Lions ended his season with 13 points, including six goals and three assists. He played with Niesigk and the later wrapped up his final season with 14 points: four goals and six assists.
Head Coach Brett Parker looks to build off this season’s successes, learn from the mistakes, and get the lions into even better form for the upcoming seasons.
