FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. (April 12) – After scoring a season-high in goals in the Conference Carolinas regular season finale, the University of Mount Olive men's lacrosse team cruised past Emmanuel by a final score of 25-10 on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Trojans finish the regular season with a 6-6 overall record behind a 5-2 mark in league play. Mount Olive has secured the No. 3 seed in the Conference Carolinas Tournament and will host a home quarterfinal game on Tuesday, April 22, with the time and opponent yet to be determined. Meanwhile, the Lions drop to 8-5 this season with a 3-3 record in conference action.
Fifth-year
Jack Lewis scored a career-high six goals on Saturday while graduate student
Bubba Bowen delivered a seven-point performance with five goals and two assists. Junior
Benjamin Vanderkley finished with four goals and two assists against the Lions. Freshman Bryaden Rieger produced a five-point game with four goals and one assist, while sophomore
Chase Penner added two goals for the Trojans.
Emmanuel scored the initial goal of the contest in just 15 seconds, but Mount Olive quickly countered with three straight goals in under five minutes with Lewis, Bowen, and Vanderkley rattling the cage. The Lions scored two of the final three goals in the first quarter, while Lewis netted his second goal to put UMO in front by a 4-3 margin. The Trojans opened up their lead in the second with eight unanswered goals, highlighted by three goals from Lewis and Bowen. Emmanuel halted its scoreless drought at the 2:01 mark, but Mount Olive went into halftime with a 12-4 advantage.
In the third quarter, Vanderkley registered back-to-back goals in the opening two minutes before the Lions scored at the 10:44 mark, 14-5. The Trojans netted three of the next five goals with Lewis, senior
Jakson Bowran, and Rieger all scoring to extend the lead to 17-6. Following a goal by Emmanuel, UMO scored the final four goals of the third with freshman
Tyler Michael and Penner each scoring their first goal of the contest, 21-7. The Lions recorded three consecutive goals to begin the fourth before Mount Olive closed the game with four unanswered goals, as Rieger, sophomore
Jake Pagliarini, sophomore
Evan Mitchell, and Penner found the back of the cage, 25-10.
Junior
Kurtis Lensing earned the win after collecting five saves on 24 shots faced in 44-plus minutes of action. Freshman
Roman Barranello finished out the final quarter and registered four stops for the Trojans. Defensively, fifth-year
Tanner Meijas totaled three caused turnovers and three ground balls, while senior
Cameron Norton added two caused turnovers. Redshirt senior
Josh Mauer finished 22-of-28 on face-offs with 10 ground balls and senior
Brady Laurance recorded a career-high 12 ground balls.
Mount Olive held a 42-35 advantage in total shots while going 12-of-17 on clearances.
The Trojans will be idle for over a week before returning to action on Tuesday, April 22, for the quarterfinals of the Conference Carolinas Championship at Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex.
