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.

Colleges: Depleted Lions blow out Sailfish

Hannah Beard scored twice, while Sara Macko had a goal and three assists as Saint Leo’s women overcame a short bench to sweep past Palm Beach Atlantic on Tuesday night 7-2 in West Palm Beach.

Beard gave the Lions the lead in the 10th minute, but the Sailfish answered less than a minute later on a goal by Gabby Lopez. From there, though, the half was dominated by Saint Leo (4-2-1), who took only 15 players with them on the trip, allowing for only three outfield substitutes. Goals by Macko, Pia Soesemann, Kelli Jones and Aija Bent-Trinder all scored before halftime to give the Lions a 5-1 lead.

Angie Kuhn pulled a goal back for the Sailfish (4-4-0) just before the hour mark, but Andrea Lott scored her first goal of the season, and Beard added her ninth late to close out the game.

The Lions now return home to face Lynn on Friday night as they look to return to .500 in Sunshine State Conference play.