MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Montevallo men's lacrosse continues a two-game stretch in the sunshine state with a Saturday meeting with receiving votes Saint Leo at 11 a.m. on March 2.
So Far This Season…
The Falcons head into Saturday mornings contest with a 3-2 record as the No. 19 team in the USILA standings. Montevallo opened the season with a 13-6 loss to No. 9 UIndy on Feb. 4. The Falcons bounced back with a 19-18 overtime win over No. 7 Florida Southern on the road for Montevallo's first win over a ranked opponent in program history. Montevallo returned home for a dominant 26-8 win over Tusculum before taking a 16-6 win over Mars Hill at home. Most recently, the Falcons fell to Embry-Riddle, 15-9, on Thursday, Feb. 29.
The Falcons sit in a tie for second in the Peach Belt Conference with a total of 76 goals on the season while allowing the second-least goals at 58 through five games. Montevallo's .568 save percentage ranks second in the PBC while its 15.80 saves per game lead the conference. Though the Falcons' goalkeepers have played well so far, Montevallo allows a league-high 11.97 goals per game. Montevallo dominates the faceoffs with the Falcons winning 67.1 percent of faceoffs through five games.
Individually, the Falcons are led by sophomore attacker
Matthew Boas who ahs tallied 13 goals so far this season to go along with five assists for the team's second most points at 18. Boas is followed closely by senior
Jackson Klewchuk with 12 goals and six assists for another 18 points for the Falcons. Montevallo assist leader comes in the form of
Trevayne Hunter who has registered 12 assists on the season which is tied for the most by any PBC player this season. Montevallo faceoff specialist
Gerry York leads the PBC in both ground balls per game (5.80) and faceoff win percentage (.729). On the defensive end,
Luke Hennebaul leads the league with 2.20 caused turnovers per game.
Scouting Saint Leo: WATCH | LIVE STATS
Saint Leo enters Saturday's contest with a 2-1 record through the first three games of the season. The Lions opened the season with a 24-15 loss to No. 4 Limestone on the road before taking a 16-10 win over Rockhurst at home on Feb. 11. Most recently, Saint Leo earned a 12-7 win over Lincoln Memorial on the road on Feb. 24.
Saint Leo's offense averages 14.33 goals per game while allowing its opponents to score 13.67 goals per outing. SLU's goalkeeping corps leads the Sunshine State Conference with 16.00 saves per game on an SSC fifth-ranked .539 save percentage. The Lions struggled to handle the ball through the first three games with an average of 18.00 turnovers per game. Saint Leo is strong on the faceoffs with an SSC second-ranked .548-win percentage with a total of 51 wins.
Saint Leo's attack is highlighted by sophomore attacker Greg Palmer who has tallied 12 goals on the season for a league-high 4.00 goals per game while also dishing out eight assists for the second most in the SSC. In the net, Chase Strait has played all three games for SLU with a total of 48 saves and a .539 save percentage. SLU faceoff specialist Michael Flores leads the team with 28 ground balls while winning 45-of-77 faceoffs.
Series History Against Saint Leo:
The Falcons and Saint Leo have met just twice in the short history of Montevallo men's lacrosse with both teams splitting the series. In 2022, Saint Leo took a 19-11 win over Montevallo to open the series before Montevallo took a 17-9 win a season ago.
