Saint Leo, Fla. -- The Saint Leo University men's lacrosse team scored the first five goals of the game and never looked back, taking a 16-11 Deep South Conference victory over Wingate University Tuesday evening at University Field.

The contest was the league opener for both teams. Saint Leo is 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the DSC. Wingate is 0-4 overall and 0-1 in the DSC. The Bulldogs will face league newcomer Florida Southern College Wednesday in Lakeland. The first face-off is slated for 6:00 p.m.

SLU junior midfielder Kyle Marceau (Concord, N.H.) came off the bench to score a game-high five goals for the Lions. Senior attack Benjamin Brigham (Scituate, Mass.) and senior midfielder Mark Dargon (Newton, Mass.) contributed three goals and one assist each for the hosts. Senior attack Ryan Pomponio (Garden City, N.Y.) added two goals and two assists.

For Wingate, senior midfielder Ryan Otterblad (Dumfries, Va.) had four goals and one assist to lead the Bulldog cause. Senior attack Greg Williams (Woodbridge, Va.) had two goals and one assist, while redshirt senior midfielder Mark Hodsdon (Hilton Head, S.C.) contributed one goal and a team-best three assists. Graduate student midfielder Mike Bayliss (Lorton, Va.) had one goal and two assists for the visiting Bulldogs.

Brigham and Dargon contributed two goals each to Saint Leo's opening 5-0 run. Dargon finished the flurry with a goal at the 12:51 mark of the second quarter, thanks to an assist by Pomponio. Otterblad put Wingate on the board one minute later on an assist from Hodsdon.

Saint Leo led 10-3 at intermission, as Marceau posted three goals in the second quarter to help the Lions pad their lead. Otterblad, Hodsdon and redshirt junior attack Angus Derbyshire (Thurmont, Md.) scored first half goals for Wingate.

Williams and Otterblad opened the second half with scores for the Bulldogs, cutting the deficit to 10-5 with 9:05 remaining. Otterblad tallied Wingate's fifth goal on an assist from Williams. The Bulldogs pulled within four in the waning moments, but could get no closer down the stretch.

Wingate senior goalie Chad Watson (Wilmington, N.C.) took the loss, allowing 15 goals in 58-plus minutes of action. Watson notched seven saves. Bulldog freshman goalie Danny Dlugozima (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) gave up one goal in 1:38 of work. Saint Leo sophomore netminder David Erdman (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) picked up the win. The 2007 DSC Freshman of the Year had eight saves while allowing 11 Wingate goals.

Saint Leo won 20 of 31 face-offs, thanks to 12 victories by junior midfielder Ryan Groat (Castle Rock, Colo.). Wingate senior midfielder Bryan Egan (Fairfax, Va.) won nine face-offs for the Bulldogs. The Lions converted four-of-six extra-man opportunities. Wingate was successful on two-of-seven extra-man opportunities.

The SLU Lions return to action Thursday night, hosting Grand Canyon (Ariz.) University at 7:00 p.m. Saint Leo entertains Queens University of Charlotte Monday night at 7:00 p.m.

2009-03-04