MOUNT OLIVE (April 1) – In a matchup against the top two teams in the Conference Carolinas, the University of Mount Olive women's lacrosse team hands Belmont Abbey their first conference loss after winning by a 19-14 margin on Saturday evening.
With the win, the Trojans improve to 7-4 overall with a 5-0 mark in league play. UMO extends its winning streak to an impressive 30-straight conference wins. Meanwhile, the Crusaders fall to 7-5 this season with a 4-1 record in conference action.
In the opening minute of the contest, graduate student Ali Davis was first to score, 1-0. Less than a minute later, senior Peyton Youngblood put one past the keeper, 2-0. To level the game, BAC scored back-to-back goals in the span of two-plus minutes, 2-2. After a great defensive effort by the Trojans, graduate student Zoe Dougherty found the back of the cage off a pass from Davis, 3-2. Near the end of the quarter Belmont Abbey was able to score, leveling the match 3-3. In the closing seconds of the first quarter, graduate student Morgan Paige scored while being man-down, 4-3. In the second, UMO scored with a dime of a pass from graduate student Meagan Maxwell to senior Bria Hamilton, 5-3. Afterward, a goal by the Crusaders was made and the game was within one, 5-4. Scoring her first of the game, sophomore Rileigh White buried one in the back of the net from a pass by Maxwell, 6-4. At the 7:34-mark, BAC scored another goal to trim the deficit to 6-5. Without hesitation, Davis charged toward the cage to gain her second goal of the contest, 7-5. Going into the second half, the Crusaders went on a three-goal run to take the lead, 8-7.
At the start of the second half, Youngblood dodged her defenders to level the match 8-8. In response, the Crusaders scored again, 9-8. With control of the offense, Mount Olive took a four-goal lead, led by goals from Paige and White with two from Davis, 11-9. The Crusaders were able to break the streak by scoring at the 3:20-mark, 12-10. Closing the third quarter, UMO scored two goals, both by Davis, reaching her 41st goal of the season, 14-10. In the last frame, the Trojans scored two straight goals, from Youngblood and Hamilton, 16-10. At the 13:17-mark of the match, BAC scored, 16-11. With two more goals, by Dougherty and Maxwell, the Trojans led by seven, 18-11. To try and tie the match, the Crusaders were able to score three straight goals with 2:29 left in the match, 18-14. To seal the victory, Davis scored her seventh goal of the game, bringing the final score to 19-14.
Davis completed the game with seven goals, one assist, two ground balls, and two draw controls. Dougherty completed the game with a season-high of seven draw controls.
Goalkeeper Claire Hagen finished with 10 saves on 24 shots on goal with three ground balls.
Mount Olive heads to Hickory, North Carolina, as it takes on Lenior-Rhyne in non-conference action on Wednesday, April 5 at 5:00 p.m.
