Colleges: Beard's two goals give Lions victory

A pair of second half goals by Hannah Beard gave Saint Leo a 3-1 victory against Nova Southeastern, and also gave the Lions momentum as they move towards their final game of the regular season.

After a scoreless first half, the Lions began to build pressure on the Sharks goal, NSU goalkeeper Sarah Glass having to make saves from Pia Soesemann twice and Kelli Jones. The Lions then took the lead on the hour mark as Sara Macko converted a penalty kick for her seventh goal of the season.

Beard then notched her first, picking up a pass from Soesemann on the right side of the penalty area before finishing in the 73rd minute. NSU pulled a goal back six minutes later, Alexis Hernandez beating the Lions defense to a long ball over the top that put her through on goal to score, but Beard sealed the victory in the 83th minute, her 12th goal of the season.

The Lions sealed the No.4 seed for the Sunshine State Conference tournament with the win, and will now face rival Tampa at Pepin-Rood Stadium to close out the regular season on Wednesday.