DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Mar. 7) – Despite seven goals in the final quarter, No. 23 Mount Olive was unable to overcome an early deficit in an 11-10 loss at No. 18 Embry-Riddle in non-conference action in Florida. 

With the loss, the University of Mount Olive women's lacrosse program falls to 1-4 after facing their fifth-straight ranked opponent this season. Meanwhile, No. 18 Embry-Riddle improves to 4-1 after returning a pair of All-Sunshine State Conference (SSC) award winners. 

In the opening quarter of the contest, Embry-Riddle netted the opening three goals over the initial eight-plus minutes of the game, 3-0. At the 4:57 mark of the match, senior Ali Davis scored her 14th goal of the season, while UMO was man-down, 3-1. The Eagles regained their three-goal advantage in the closing minutes of the first with another goal, 4-1. Scoring their only goal of the second quarter, graduate student Margot Coomes scored off a pass by teammate Morgan Paige at the 12:47 mark, 4-2. Embry-Riddle scored five unanswered goals going into hafltime of the game, 9-2. 

At the start of the second half, both teams battled as only one goal found the back of the net in the entire third quarter. Senior goalkeeper Claire Hagen kept the Trojans alive by saving all four shots from the Eagle offense. After another save by Hagen, UMO saw a goal at the 1:12-mark of the third from senior Bria Hamilton, 9-3. In the last frame of the game, Embry-Riddle extended the lead by eight at the 13:49 mark, 10-3. After trailing behind the Eagles, for the entirety of the game, Mount Olive recorded three goals from Davis, a pair by graduate student Emery Kennedy, and one goal from graduate student Zoe Dougherty, 10-9. By scoring six-straight goals, the Trojans brought this contest to a one-goal game. With less than two minutes left, Embry-Riddle netted the game-winning goal., 11-9. With a free position opportunity, Davis scored her fifth goal of the match with 36 seconds left, but the Eagles were able to escape with the win, 11-10.

Goalkeeper Hagen recorded 13 saves and eight ground balls. 

Davis tied her career-high of five goals for the third straight week. She also collected two assists, two draw controls, and a ground ball. Fellow teammate Kennedy scored two goals and collected one assist. 

The Trojans are one week away from their conference opener as they travel to take on Lees-McRae on Tuesday, March 14, at 2 p.m.