The No. 16 Lindenwood men's lacrosse team dropped a 17-12 decision to No. 14 Saint Leo on Wednesday night in St. Leo, Fla.
 
The two teams played a high scoring first half, including both teams having six goals after one quarter. In the second quarter, Lindenwood trailed by just one late in the period, when Saint Leo when on a scoring spurt. Saint Leo scored three straight in a 2:12 span, which gave the home Lions a 12-8 lead at halftime.
 
After the two teams combined for 20 goals in the second half, they settled down defensively in the second half, with just nine goals being scored in the final 30 minutes. Lindenwood cut its halftime deficit to 12-10 midway through the third quarter, but Saint Leo scored the final two goals of the quarter to rebuild its four-goal lead. Lindenwood was never able to get closer than three in the fourth quarter.
 
Lindenwood had two more shots in the game, but Saint Leo had one more shot on goal. Saint Leo had a 12-8 advantage in saves. It also won 21-of-33 faceoffs, and had a 46-29 advantage in groundballs.
 
Lindenwood was led offensively by Sam Heaton who scored three goals. Robbie McCarthy had a team-high two assists, and Colin Domek and Sean Darroch both scored two times. Joe Shelly paced the team with six groundballs, and Carter Collins had two caused turnovers.
 
Lindenwood falls to 3-2 on the season. It continues its Florida swing on Saturday with a 1 p.m. (eastern) game at Tampa.