Colleges: Lions drop third straight, lose to Rollins

Saint Leo dropped its third consecutive game, a goal just before halftime by J.D. Gruenewald giving No.15 Rollins a 1-0 victory at University Field on Saturday night.

After the Lions’ Sunshine State Conference opener was delayed for over an hour-and-a-half, both sides started brightly, but it was the Tars that began to take control midway through the half, Nick Sowers and Bradley Welch each having a pair of chances to open the scoring.

Saint Leo (3-4-0, 0-1-0 SSC) did come back into the game as the half wore on, but the Tars (8-0-1, 1-0-0 SSC) took the lead four minutes before the break. After a Rollins shot was blocked, the ball came to Gruenewald on the left side of the penalty area, and he controlled and fired a low shot into the net.

The Lions came out with greater energy in the second half, pressuring the Rollins goal, but they were unable to find an answer. The Lions momentum stalled for good with four minutes to go as the lights went out of the field, and after a short delay the Tars were able to see out the remainder of the game.

The Lions will try to even their overall and SSC record when they travel to face Eckerd on Tuesday night.