Colleges: Moccasins rally past Lions, pull away late

Goals shortly before and after the halftime break erased Saint Leo’s first half lead and allowed Florida Southern to take another step towards a Sunshine State Conference title as the Moccasins won 4-1 at University Field on Saturday night.

Pia Soesemann had given the Lions the lead in the 35th minute on her seventh goal of the season. Sara Macko found Soesemann just outside the penalty area, and the German standout fired her shot home from 18 yards.

Saint Leo (6-3-1, 3-3-0 SSC) had a chance to extend their lead shortly after, Aija Bent-Trinder’s header from a corner going wide, but shortly after the Moccasins tied the game as Alex Hoover’s cross found Renee Hiscock for a header in the 43rd minute.

Florida Southern (10-5-1, 6-1-0) then took the lead in the 48th minute, Hanna Jansson’s long-range shot finding the back of the net. Saint Leo tried to rally, but the Moccasins defense did well to restrict Hannah Beard and the Lions attack, blocking a pair of shots as goalkeeper Martina Tangen had to make only one second half save.

Florida Southern then put the game away with a pair of goals within a minute, Princess Haley scoring her ninth of the season before Alex Hoover scored the Moccasins’ fourth.

Florida Southern now has almost two weeks off before what could be a championship decider against Rollins on Oct. 29. The Lions will try to regroup as they travel to face Florida Tech on Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m.