MOUNT OLIVE (April 22) – Following a stellar second-quarter performance on Tuesday afternoon, the No. 3 seeded Trojans advanced with a 17-8 victory over No. 6 Young Harris in the Conference Carolinas Championship Quarterfinals at Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive men's lacrosse program improves to 7-6 this season and will play in the semifinals of the league tournament on Friday, April 25, versus No. 2 seed Belmont Abbey at 1:45 p.m. The Trojans hold a 5-0 record against the Mountain Lions in the all-time series, including a pair of victories this season. Meanwhile, Young Harris closes the year with a 6-9 overall record.
Freshman
Brayden Rieger led the Trojans with a five-point game after tallying one goal, four assists, and one ground ball. Junior
Benjamin Vanderkley finished with three goals, one assist, and five ground balls, while fellow junior
Hudson Karasek totaled four points behind three goals and one assist. Freshman
Jason Falso delivered in his first postseason appearance with one goal and two assists. The Trojans dominated face-offs with redshirt senior
Josh Mauer going 16-of-19 while junior
Nicolas Logue finished 6-of-6.
In a low-scoring first quarter, the Trojans established the early 1-0 lead following a goal by senior
Jack Lewis at the 11:04 mark. The Mountain Lions countered in the closing minutes to tie the contest at 1-1 before Karasek netted a goal under a minute later to take a 2-1 advantage into the second. Mount Olive would score six unanswered goals in the initial 10 minutes with five different goal scorers, including Karasek, Lewis, sophomore
Evan Mitchell, sophomore
Chase Penner, and Vanderkley, 8-1. Young Harris halted the run with a goal at the 3:39 mark before senior
Jakson Bowran and Vanderkely rattled the back of the cage to head into the break with a 10-2 advantage.
Mount Olive extended the lead in the opening six seconds of the third quarter following a man-up goal by junior
Joshua Dewart, 11-2. The Mountain Lions countered at the 11:45 mark before the Trojans scored three of the final four goals of the third, as sophomore
Jake Pagliarini, Penner, and Vanderkley each netted a goal, 15-4. Rieger and freshman
Tyler Michael began the fourth with back-to-back goals to pull away 16-5 before Young Harris responded with four straight goals. Falso scored the final insurance goals for the Trojans to secure a 17-8 win.
Junior goalkeeper
Kurtis Lensing earned the win after collecting 12 saves on 26 shots faced in 50-plus minutes in the cage. Freshman
Roman Barranello totaled three saves while playing the majority of the final quarter.
Mauer and senior
Brady Laurance tied for the team lead with six ground balls, while fifth-year
Tanner Meijas registered one caused turnover and four ground balls.
The Trojans finish with a 48-38 shot advantage while winning 23-of-27 face-offs.
Mount Olive will face Belmont Abbey on Friday, April 25, in the semifinals of the Conference Carolinas Championship at 1:45 p.m., with UMO serving as the host institution of the league tournament.
