In a fast-paced and action-packed Conference Carolinas matchup on Saturday, the Trojans were unable to overcome a five-goal first-half deficit in a narrow 7-5 loss against North Greenville at the Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex.
With the loss, the University of Mount Olive men's lacrosse falls to 2-5 this season with a 1-1 record in conference play. The Trailblazers have won three of the last five meetings, with all contests decided by four or fewer goals. Meanwhile, North Greenville improves to 4-4 overall behind a 2-0 mark in league action.
Senior goalkeeper
Kurtis Lensing recorded a career-high 17 saves and five ground balls while facing 46 total shots in the cage. The Trojans featured five different goal scorers, as freshman
Brayden Rieger led the team with a three-point performance (one goal, two assists). Graduate student
Bubba Bowen finished with one goal and one assist with one ground ball. Defensively, graduate student
Zachary Taylor totaled four caused turnovers and three ground balls, while senior
Alan Usher and fifth-year
Tanner Meijas each registered three caused turnovers.
North Greenville controlled possession in the opening quarter and was rewarded with the opening goal at the 9:47 mark. Despite being held to just five shots in the quarter, junior
Garrett Bandelin tied the contest at 1-1 off an assist by senior
Davin Ikert with seven minutes to go. The Trailblazers countered just 38 seconds later to regain the lead by a 2-1 margin. NGU continued to add to its lead in the second quarter with three unanswered goals to build a 5-1 advantage. The Trojans managed to cut into the deficit at the 4:31 mark, as sophomore
Chase Penner found the back of the cage off an assist by Bowen, 5-2. North Greenville added two goals in the final 70 seconds to head into the break with a 7-2 edge.
The third quarter only featured one goal scored by the Trojans, with junior
Hudson Karasek registering a man-up goal at 10:34 to trail 7-3 heading into the final 15 minutes. Mount Olive shutout NGU for a second-straight quarter and closed the gap to 7-5 behind goals from Rieger and Bowen. Despite seven shots in the 10-plus minutes, the Trojans were unable to overcome the deficit in a loss on Saturday.
NGU held a 46-35 shooting advantage in the league matchup, while UMO held an 8-6 edge in faceoffs won.
Mount Olive will face Young Harris on Saturday, March 22, in Conference Carolinas action, with the start time set for 1 p.m.
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