MOUNT OLIVE (March 4) – A comeback bid in the fourth quarter fell short on Tuesday afternoon, as the University of Mount Olive women's lacrosse program suffered a 13-10 loss against No. 20 Wingate in non-conference play at Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex.
With the loss, the Trojans drop to 1-5 overall after facing a third straight nationally ranked opponent over the previous two weeks. Mount Olive is set to travel down to the Sunshine State this weekend for a pair of games in St. Augustine, Florida. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs improve to 5-1 this season while scoring 13 or more goals in five of six contests.
Fifth-year
Logan Hibbard led the Trojans with four points behind three goals and one assist while adding three caused turnovers and two draw controls. Freshman
Reese Weddle delivered her first career hat trick and tallied a draw control. Senior
Rileigh White finished with two goals, one assist, three ground balls, two caused turnovers, and three draw controls on Tuesday.
Mount Olive established a 2-0 lead in the opening two-plus minutes of the game behind goals from sophomore
Kayanna Bowden and White. The Bulldogs controlled possession over the remainder of the first quarter and netted three consecutive goals to hold a 3-2 advantage. The Trojans quickly regained the lead in the initial minutes of the second with a pair of goals by Hibbard to take a 4-3 edge. At the 10:10 mark, Wingate tied the game at 4-4, but Hibbard answered back to complete her hat trick to regain the advantage, 5-4. In the final minutes, the Bulldogs scored back-to-back goals to take a 6-5 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, White knotted the game at 6-6 in the opening minute at the 14:07 mark, but Wingate seized control after netting four of the next five goals to build a 10-7 advantage. During that stretch, Weddle registered her second collegiate goal of the season. The Bulldogs extended the lead to 13-7, following three goals in the first four minutes of the fourth. Mount Olive mounted a late comeback with a trio of goals in the final 3:22 with Weddle scoring twice before sophomore
Caroline Clark recorded a goal, 13-10.
Senior goalkeeper
Anna James recorded a career-high 14 saves on 32 shots faced with six ground balls while playing all 60 minutes in the cage. Defensively, sophomore
Simone McCraw matched a season-high with four caused turnovers while collecting five ground balls. Junior
Madison Dow registered three caused turnovers and four ground balls on the backline of the UMO defense.
Mount Olive returns to action on Saturday, March 8, for a non-conference matchup against Lynn in St. Augustine, Florida, starting at 2 p.m.
