BANNER ELK, N.C. (March 8) – The trio of fifth-year
Jack Lewis, graduate student
Bubba Bowen, and junior
Benjamin Vanderkley combined for 11 goals and six assists, as the University of Mount Olive men's lacrosse team rolled past Lees-McRae by a 19-9 margin the Conference Carolinas opener on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Trojans snap a three-game skid and improve to 2-4 overall behind a 1-0 record in league action. Mount Olive extends its winning streak to 13 straight in the series with Lees-McRae dating back to 2013. Meanwhile, the Bobcats fall to 2-5 this season with a 0-1 mark in conference play.
Vanderkley registered six points behind three goals and three assists with one ground ball. Lewis also produced a six-point performance with four goals and two assists. Bowen delivered a breakout game with four goals and one assist while adding a caused turnover and a ground ball.
The Trojans scored seven unanswered goals to begin the contest, including six goals in the opening quarter. Bowen opened the scoring with a goal at the 12:23 mark before assisting a goal netted by Vanderkley less than two minutes later, 2-0. Freshman
Jason Falso extended the lead to 3-0 before Bowen completed a first-quarter hat trick and freshman
Brayden Rieger tallied a goal, 6-0. In the second quarter, Lewis stretched the advantage to 7-0, but the Bobcats finally answered with a goal at the 13:42 mark. UMO would respond with back-to-back goals by junior
Hudson Karasek and Lewis to hold a 9-1 lead, while LMC netted the final goal of the quarter, 9-2.
In the third, Mount Olive registered two goals in the opening 26 seconds to climb the lead to 11-2 with Vanderkley and Bowen finding the back of the cage. The Bobcats closed the deficit to 11-5 with three unanswered goals before Vanderkley, redshirt senior
Josh Mauer, and sophomore
Mikey Stavrianakis all scored to regain the nine-goal advantage. Lees-McRae trimmed the deficit early in the fourth to 14-7, but UMO scored five of the final seven goals, all on man-up opportunities. During that final stretch, Lewis tallied two goals, while junior
Joshua Dewart, freshman
Tyler Michael, and freshman
Zeffren Armstrong all netted goals, 19-9.
Junior goalkeeper
Kurtis Lensing earned the win following 10 saves and one ground ball in 55-plus minutes of action in the cage. Mauer finished 18-of-24 on faceoffs with six ground balls on Saturday. Defensively, senior
Cameron Norton led the way with four caused turnovers and two ground balls.
The Trojans finished the contest six-of-eight on extra-man opportunities while going 21-of-23 on clear attempts.
Mount Olive continues to Conference Carolinas play at Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex on Saturday, March 15, against North Greenville with the start time set for noon.
