The Saint Leo men’s soccer team (4-6) defeated the Thomas University Night Hawks (4-5) 4-1, Tuesday night from University Field in non-conference action.
The Lions came out on fire in the first half, blistering the Thomas goalkeeper with 12 shots, six of which were on goal. Glenn opened all scoring with his sixth tally of the year. In the effort, Glenn followed up a rebound opportunity, blasting the ball past the keeper from inside the six-yard area. Glenn made it 2-0 in favor of the Green & Gold when Michael Panter found his teammate in stride inside the 18-yard box. Glenn made one move on a defender and slotted it past the goalkeeper to extend their advantage.
The Lions were not done in the first half, as Bruce Cutler scored his third goal of the year to make it 3-0. After receiving a swing pass from Stephen Tatum, Cutler sent a blast towards net from just inside the area. The ball deflected off a Thomas’ player and into the net. The goal was the first non-penalty kick goal of his career.
Saint Leo continued to attack early in the second half, as Freddy Menor added his second tally of the year in the 61st minute to put the game out of reach. Even with the Lions possessing a 4-0 lead, Thomas refused to lie down as they began to excel on the offensive end. The Night Hawks closed the night by peppering Lions’ goalkeeper Jake Hirst with 11 shots, eventually squeezing one past Hirst in the 77th minute. The defense tightened once again for SLU, as they refused to let TU get any closer, preserving the three-goal victory.
The win snaps their five-game losing streak, and avenges a 2-1 defeat to the Night Hawks last season.
Starting goalkeeper Erik Mozzo (4-6) was terrific in net for the Lions, stopping four shots on 14 chances while his teammate Hirst also played well, stopping three shots on four shots-on-goal.
SLU takes to the field again on Saturday, October 10 for an SSC tilt with nationally-ranked Lynn University. Kickoff for the contest is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at University Field.