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Colleges

Both Lions squads eye tourney

The men are third in the SSC, the women second, giving both control of their destinies.

By STEVE LEE
Published October 19, 2005

ST. LEO - Both Saint Leo soccer teams are on the verge of qualifying for Sunshine State Conference tournaments for the second time in school history.

The men's and women's squads were among the eight teams each in the 2003 conference tourneys, though neither made the final. The field has been reduced to six, primarily to give the top two seeds byes.

The men (11-1, 3-1) rank third in the conference and the women (8-3-2, 4-1-1) are tied for second with Tampa.

Both Saint Leo teams face conference foes this week. The men are at Eckerd (fourth in the SSC at 3-3) tonight at 7 and host Lynn (5-0), the defending national champion and top-ranked Division II team in the nation, at 1 p.m. Saturday. The women host Lynn (fourth at 4-1) at 4 p.m. Friday.

"Obviously, this weekend is huge," Saint Leo athletic director Fran Reidy said.

The Saint Leo men have won six straight, and Friday's 1-0 victory over Barry marked their sixth shutout. Even more impressive may be the Lions' 2-1 double-overtime defeat of Lincoln Memorial (Ga.) on Oct. 10.

Tommy Polston came off the bench to score two goals (second and third) in that contest, the first time Saint Leo played beyond regulation this season. The junior midfielder, third in team scoring with 12 points, also had an assist on Asmir Pervan's team-leading 17th goal against Barry.

For those efforts, Polston was named the SSC offensive player of the week. Polston's teammate, senior goalkeeper Matias Perez, who made 13 saves in those two games, was honored as the conference defensive player of the week.

Pervan did not win an award last week. Nonetheless, the junior midfielder leads the nation with 40 points.

Reidy said he is proud of both teams, perhaps more so of the men. He coached that sport to a 140-134-16 record in 16 seasons before resigning in 2004 to focus solely on his athletic director duties. Second-year coach Joel Harrison coached the Lions to a 10-5-1 record last season.

"Joel has done exactly what I expected him to do when I hired him, which is to get us back in the hunt," Reidy said.

Reidy also lauded women's coach Tony Paris, 29-64-4 in five previous seasons with the Lions. Several of Paris' players have missed games to injuries and defender Sophia Lindorsson, the 2004 SSC freshman of the year from Sweden, did not return.

"The women are the surprise," Reidy said. "(Paris) clearly, and I don't mind saying it, has outcoached a lot of people."

The Saint Leo women have four straight wins, including Friday's 2-1 win over West Georgia and a 2-0 shutout of North Alabama on Monday.

Casie Poyssick (Land O'Lakes) scored three goals and was named the SSC offensive player of the week. The junior forward, a former SSC freshman of the year, leads the Lions in goals (10) and points (25).

[Last modified October 19, 2005, 00:30:20]