SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Westminster men's lacrosse team opened a four-game road trip with a 19-6 loss at No. 17 Saint Leo on Saturday afternoon in a non-conference contest.
 
Westminster (1-1) had an early 2-1 lead before the home side ran off a 10-2 run to finish the half and lead 11-4 at intermission. Saint Leo (5-1) would extend the lead to 15-5 with 4:47 remaining in the third quarter before the Griffins had a 4-1 edge in the final stanza.
 
The Griffins finished the day with a 37-34 advantage in shot attempts and they were able to get 24 of those chances on cage. The key was the Lions made 15 saves – including eight in the third quarter – and they won 24 of 29 faceoffs.
 
Troy Vance led the Westminster offense with three goals on six shots. Bridger Fisher added a pair of goals in defeat.
 
Westminster was 16 of 20 on clearing attempts and they had 17 turnovers while forcing Saint Leo into 22 turnovers. The Lions won the ground ball game 45-22 and neither team scored on two extra-man chances, although Saint Leo's first goal came playing a man down.
 
Ezra Schofield and Christian Pompoco led the Griffins with three ground ball apiece and Brian Dejesus had a team-high two caused turnovers.
 
Conner McFarlane suffered the loss in goal with five saves and 11 goals allowed in 38 minutes. Kyler Banks played the final 22 minutes with six saves and five goals allowed.
 
Jake Gilmour led the Lions with three goals and three assists. Kyle Pauwels and Anthony Visintin had three goals apiece.
 
The Griffins road trip continues on Tuesday when they face No. 9 Tampa at 6 p.m. MDT. Live video and stats for the game are available at WestminsterGriffins.com/live.