MOUNT OLIVE (March 14) – Sophomore
Caroline Clark matched a career-high after scoring five goals on Friday afternoon, as the Trojans delivered a dominant 16-1 win over Findlay in non-conference play at Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive women's lacrosse improves to 2-6 this season and captures its first win at home during the 2025 season. The Trojans are set to travel to Young Harris on March 19 for a rematch of the Conference Carolinas Championship in 2024. Meanwhile, Findlay drops to 1-8 overall with a pair of losses of Eastern North Carolina to Barton and UMO.
Clark finished with five goals, four caused turnovers, and two ground balls, while redshirt sophomore
Katie Broom recorded a five-point performance with three goals and two assists. Fifth-year
Logan Hibbard totaled four points behind two goals and two assists while adding five draw controls, two caused turnovers, and three ground balls. Junior
Maddy Fratus tallied two goals and one ground ball in the win on Friday.
Mount Olive jumped ahead 3-0 in the opening five minutes of the first quarter, as Broom, Fratus, and Clark all found the back of the net. At the 7:05 mark, Clark scored again on a man-up chance before freshman
Lyndzy Palensky registered a man-up goal just 35 seconds later, 5-0. Clark completed her first-quarter hat trick with 5:22 to go, while freshman
Reese Weddle scored in the final minute to get a 7-0 advantage. The Trojans added another goal in the initial minutes of the second with Broom peppering the back of the cage at the 12:24 mark, 8-0. Broom ultimately completed her hat trick in the closing minutes of the quarter to head into the break with a 9-0 lead.
The Oilers ended their scoreless drought in the early part of the third quarter, but UMO quickly countered with a goal from Hibbard, 10-1. Mount Olive activated the running-clock at the 7:19 mark after Fratus scored before senior
Rileigh White registered a goal in the closing seconds, 12-1. In the fourth, the Trojans added four insurance goals, with Clark scoring twice while Hibbard and freshman
Ava Mullen also found the net, 16-1.
UMO featured all four goalkeepers, as senior
Anna James played a shutout first half and recorded three saves. Sophomore
Ruby Burandt, sophomore
Karissa Doerr, and freshman
Lily Mahoney all saw time in the second half to assist in the victory. Defensively, junior
Madison Dow totaled three caused turnovers and four ground balls on the UMO backline.
The Trojans held a 36-11 shot advantage over the Oilers while going 22-of-25 on clear attempts.
UMO returns to Conference Carolinas play on Wednesday, March 19, at Young Harris with the start time set for 2 p.m.
