MOUNT OLIVE (Sept. 21) – In its home-opener at the Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex, the University of Mount Olive field hockey team registered a 2-1 win over Belmont Abbey in South Atlantic Conference (SAC) play on Wednesday afternoon.
With the win, the Trojans improve to 1-3 overall behind a 1-0 record in league action. UMO played its first contest in nearly two weeks and earned their first win over the Crusaders in program history. Belmont Abbey falls 2-4 this season with 1-1 mark in conference play after winning double-digit games in 2021.
In the first quarter of the match, UMO took control of the game and tallied three shots on goal within the initial six minutes of the match. At the 7:14-mark, freshman
Nikki Bos beat the Crusader goalkeeper one-on-one, scoring her team-leading third goal of the season, 1-0. Mount Olive kept possession on its attacking side of the field in the second quarter and totaled five shots on goal and a pair of penalty corners. The Trojans defense would hold the Crusaders to just two shots in the first half, as UMO held a 1-0 advantage at the break.
At the start of the second half, UMO quickly went to work and junior
Avery Congleton scored on a through ball by sophomore
Jess Aylward to extend the lead, 2-0. Both teams had goal scoring opportunities but could not find the back of the net in the closing minutes of the third quarter. At the 56:27-mark, sophomore Jessica Rybicki scored a goal off a penalty corner to trim the deficit, 2-1. With less than four minutes left, the Crusaders kept pressing against the Trojans to tie the match, but were unable to convert two penalty corner chances in the final seconds of the match.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Alanna Barrett collected five saves on nine shots faced in 60 minutes of play.
UMO held a 17-9 shot advantage, including a 12-6 lead in shots on goal, while both teams tied with seven penalty corners in the match.
Mount Olive returns to play on Saturday, Sept. 24, to face Wingate in a conference match at Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex, starting at 1 p.m.