MOUNT OLIVE (Feb. 10) – In a top-25 nationally ranked contest, No. 20 Mount Olive fell to a 10-8 margin against No. 25 St. Leo in non-conference action on Friday afternoon in the season-opener at the Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex.

With the loss, the University of Mount Olive women's lacrosse program drops to 0-1 this season after being ranked in a pair of national preseason polls to start the year. Meanwhile, St. Leo improves to 2-0 overall with a pair of wins over Conference Carolinas opponents.

Eight minutes into the game, the Lions were off to a quick start as Fiona McLaughlin netted the initial three goals of the match, 3-0. After a caused turnover and ground ball pick up by graduate student Alexis Stanley, Mount Olive put one on the board with a goal by senior Bria Hamilton, 3-1. Following a save by junior goalkeeper, Jane Hobbs, the Trojans reversed field, and graduate student Morgan Paige put one past the keeper, 2-0. The Lions closed the first quarter with a goal, ending the period 4-2. Starting off the second, St. Leo gained another goal at the 13:40 mark before Hamilton was awarded a free position shot and scored her second goal of the game, 5-3. To extend the lead, St. Leo stretched the advantage back to three goals with just under two minutes left. At the 1:54 mark, graduate student Ali Davis dodged her defender to score and close the first half of the game, 6-4.

Opening the second half of the game, the Lions saw the first goal at the 13:10 mark of the third quarter, 7-4. Mount Olive worked hard defensively as they shut out the Lions for the remainder of the third quarter. With 21 seconds left on the clock, sophomore Teagan Dunnett rounded the crease and scored the last goal of the quarter, 7-5. In the final 15 minutes of the game, St. Leo sought out another goal to stretch the advantage back to three goals, 8-5. Rewarded with a free position shot at the 10:05 mark, sophomore Lena DeFilippo scored to cut into the deficit, 8-6. Fighting for a larger lead, SLU responded by bringing the score to 9-7. With a two-goal run by UMO, graduate student Zoe Dougherty and senior Ellie Fedorowski, brought the Trojans within one, 9-8. Mount Olive battled hard to level the match, but the Lions sealed their road victory with a goal at the 1:58 mark, 10-8.

Hobbs set a program record of 22 saves in a single game. She faced 38 shots, with 32 shots on goal in her first career start at Mount Olive.

Hamilton recorded two goals and one draw control. Fellow teammate Logan Hibbard recorded three groundballs and caused two turnovers.

The Trojans return to play at home on Friday, Feb. 17, as they take on No. 4 Florida Southern at 4:00 pm in Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex.