YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. (March 22) – In a tightly contested battle on Saturday afternoon, the University of Mount Olive men's lacrosse team utilized a five-goal surge in the second half to captured a 13-10 victory at Young Harris in Conference Carolinas action.
With the win, the Trojans improve to 3-5 overall behind a 2-1 mark in league play. Mount Olive remains a perfect 4-0 in the all-time series versus Young Harris, including a pair of conference victories since their opponent joined the league in 2023-24. Meanwhile, the Mountain Lions drop to 4-5 this season with a 2-1 record in conference action.
Junior
Hudson Karasek produced a four-point performance with three goals and one assist on Saturday, while fellow junior
Benjamin Vanderkley finished with two goals and two assists. Junior
Joshua Dewart guided the offense with four assists and freshman
Brayden Rieger delivered his first collegiate hat trick. Junior
Micaiah Boyle contributed a three-point game behind one goal, two assists, and two ground balls.
The Trojans jumped ahead by a 2-0 margin in the initial five minutes of the first quarter with Vanderkley and Rieger finding the back of the net. The Mountain Lions countered with three unanswered goals in under a minute, but UMO quickly tied up the contest with a goal by freshman
Jason Falso, 3-3. Rieger completed a first-quarter hat trick with two goals in the final five minutes, as the Trojans built a 5-3 edge. Mount Olive was held scoreless in the second and limited to just five shots, as Young Harris knotted the contest at 5-5 heading into halftime.
In the third quarter, the Mountain Lions grabbed a 6-5 advantage at the 14:09 mark before Karasek quickly responded with a goal, 6-6. The Trojans regained the lead with 5:32 remaining after Vanderkley scored on a man-up opportunity off an assist by Dewart. YHC once again managed to tie the game, but a goal from graduate student
Bubba Bowen put UMO in front entering the fourth. Mount Olive pulled away in the final quarter with four straight goals, as Karasek, Boyle, sophomore
Mikey Stavrianakis, and fifth-year
Jack Lewis rattled the back of the cage, 12-7. Young Harris scored three of the final four goals in the last four minutes, but a goal from Karasek sealed the 13-10 win on the road.
Junior goalkeeper
Kurtis Lensing delivered a stellar performance in the cage with 15 saves on 44 shots faced while playing all 60 minutes. Redshirt senior
Josh Mauer finished 12-of-22 on faceoffs with a game-high seven ground balls.
Young Harris finished with a 44-32 lead in total shots, while Mount Olive held a 13-11 edge in face-offs.
The Trojans will host rival Barton on Tuesday, March 25, in league play at Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex at 5 p.m.
