YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. | Tyler Eames scored five goals and Philip Buque added three as Saint Leo University held off Young Harris College 17-11 in a non-conference men's lacrosse match Saturday (Feb. 22) afternoon at the YHC Soccer and Lacrosse Field.

The Lions improved to 2-1, while the Mountain Lions slipped to 1-3. Young Harris hits the road Wednesday (Feb. 26) for a 4 p.m. match in Salisbury, North Carolina, against Catawba College.

Sam Gasta tied the game at 2 for the Mountain Lions with 7:21 remaining in the first quarter, but Saint Leo took the lead for good at 3-2 23 seconds later on a Peyton Tyson strike. That was the first of seven unanswered goals for Saint Leo as the Lions opened up a 9-2 lead on an Eames goal with 7:09 left before the half.

Gasta led the Mountain Lions with three goals, while Daniel Zimny, Cody Bielec and Thomas Semple each found the back of the next twice. Ryley Zopfi and Jimmy Johnston also scored a goal apiece. Zimny recorded four assists, while Parker Lamarque, Jimmy Martelli, and Tyler Oglesby had one each.

Saint Leo held a 42-32 advantage in shots and a 33-28 edge in ground balls. Jacob Haas, who won eight face-offs, along with Alex Venturino, and Gasta each scooped up four ground balls for YHC, while Zane Zacharias and Zopfi had three each. Venturnio was responsible for six caused turnovers.

Bryce Parrish corralled 13 saves between the pipes for the Mountain Lions.