TIGERVILLE, S.C. (March 30) – The Trojans scored five unanswered goals in the final six-plus minutes of the fourth quarter to surge past North Greenville by a 17-14 margin on Saturday afternoon in Conference Carolinas play.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive men's lacrosse program collects its fourth straight victory and improves to 6-3 this season with a 3-0 mark in conference action. The Trojans are one of three teams in the Conference Carolinas that are undefeated in the league. Meanwhile, North Greenville drops to 6-6 overall behind a 2-1 record in conference play.
Senior
Aidan Lalonde delivered a six-point performance behind five goals and an assist while grabbing a pair of ground balls. Senior
Jack Lewis registered a hat trick while teammate
Chapman Parker finished with two goals and two assists against the Crusaders. Fifth-year
Chaz Goodman recorded a five-point game after scoring one goal and tallying four assists on Saturday.
Mount Olive established an early 2-0 edge in the first quarter after senior
Elijah Cobb and Lewis found the back of the cage in the opening minutes of the contest. NGU countered at the 8:11 mark to cut the deficit to 2-1 before Parker scored his first goal of the game to take a 3-1 advantage. The Crusaders quickly tied the contest at 3-3 with a pair of goals in just five seconds before the Trojans scored back-to-back man-up goals from senior
Matthew Ateshian and Goodman to regain a 5-3 advantage. North Greenville netted a goal at the 3:44 mark to trim the deficit before Lalonde rattled the back of the cage in the closing minutes to take a 6-4 lead. In a low-scoring second quarter, Lalonde produced his second goal of the game at the 10:21 mark to build a 7-4 edge, but NGU totaled three goals in the final 2:33 to head into halftime tied at 7-7.
In the third quarter, the Crusaders scored in the opening minute before sophomore
Benjamin Vanderkley tied the contest at 8-8. Following a man-up goal by NGU at the 8:24 mark, Mount Olive rallied off three consecutive goals from three different players to reclaim an 11-9 lead. North Greenville managed to tie the contest at 11-11 after consecutive goals before Ateshian put the Trojans ahead 12-11 heading into the final 15 minutes. The Crusaders surges ahead in the initial minutes of the fourth with three straight goals to hold a 14-12 lead. UMO once again rallied with Lalonde and Lewis quickly tying the game at 14-14 with a pair of goals separated by 23 seconds. Graduate student
Samuel Skousen completed the comeback with back-to-back goals before Lalonde delivered an insurance goal with 48 seconds left to secure a 17-14 win.
Sophomore
Kurtis Lensing earned the win after totaling 12 saves on 41 shots faced in 60 minutes.
Redshirt junior
Josh Mauer finished 20-of-31 on faceoffs with a team-high nine ground balls.
The Trojans will return to Conference Carolinas action on Wednesday, April 3, when they travel to face Chowan at 4 p.m.
