WILSON, N.C. (April 26) – For the sixth time in program history, the University of Mount Olive men's lacrosse program is returning to the Conference Carolinas Championship Final following a 16-10 win over Barton in the semifinals of the league tournament on Friday evening.
With the win, the Trojans secure a ninth consecutive victory to improve to 11-3 this season and look to capture its first-ever league tournament title on Sunday, April 28 against the winner of Belmont Abbey/North Greenville. Mount Olive continues to boast an undefeated 7-0 record all-time against Barton following a pair of victories this season. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs finished the 2024 season with a 7-10 overall mark.
Sophomore goalie Kurtis Lensing delivered a stellar performance in the cage with 15 saves on 46 shots faced with four ground balls to earn the win in 60 minutes of action.
Senior Chapman Parker finished with a game-high five points on four goals and one assist, while fellow senior Aidan Lalonde totaled two goals and two assists with one ground ball on Friday. Sophomore Benjamin Vanderkley contributed four goals behind a hat trick and one assist, while fifth-year Chaz Goodman totaled one goal, two assists, one caused turnover, and two ground balls.
Mount Olive established an early 1-0 lead in the opening minutes of the contest after Parker ripped a shot into the back of the cage. Barton answered with back-to-back goals to claim its only lead of the game before Vanderkley tallied a goal off an assist by Goodman to tie the contest, 2-2. The Trojans registered two more goals in the closing five-plus minutes after Vanderkley and Goodman scored to build a 4-2 advantage. In the second, Lalonde scored his 45th goal of the year just nine seconds into the quarter to stretch the lead to 5-2. Just over a minute later, Vanderkley completed his first-half hat trick at the 13:49 mark. Barton cut the deficit to 6-3, but Parker countered with his second goal of the game, to regain the four-goal lead, 7-3. After the Bulldogs closed the gap to 8-5 in the closing minutes of the quarter, senior Elijah Cobb rattled the cage for the Trojans to take a 9-5 edge into the break.
Mount Olive opened the third quarter with three unanswered goals, as Parker scored consecutive times in under three minutes before senior Jack Lewis peppered a shot past the goalie, 12-5. Barton responded with three straight goals to trim the deficit to 12-8 before Cobb scored with 19 seconds left in the third to hold a 13-8 advantage. Following five scoreless minutes in the fourth, the Trojans added three insurance goals, as senior Matthew Ateshian, Lewis, and sophomore Hudson Karasek each scored to extend the lead to 16-8. Barton tallied two goals in the final minutes, as Mount Olive captured the 16-10 victory.
Redshirt junior Josh Mauer won 17-of-25 face-offs on Friday while collecting a team-high nine ground balls.
The Trojans return to action on Sunday, April 28, for the Conference Carolinas Championship Final, with the start time set for 1 p.m. at Electric Supply Company Field at Truist Stadium in Wilson, North Carolina.
