MOUNT OLIVE (April 25) – Despite holding a one-goal advantage at halftime, the University of Mount Olive men's lacrosse program fell short in a tightly contested battle against Belmont Abbey dropping a 10-8 decision in the Conference Carolinas Championship Semifinals on Friday.
Records: #2 seed Crusaders (11-3), #3 seed Trojans (7-7)
TROJAN PERFORMANCES:
- Junior Benjamin Vanderkley registered his sixth hat trick of the season following a three-goal performance while collecting two ground balls on Friday afternoon.
- Fifth-year Jack Lewis tallied two goals, one caused turnovers, and one ground ball.
- Senior Alan Usher, the two-time Conference Carolinas Player of the Year, finished with two caused turnovers and one ground ball against the Crusaders.
- Senior Cameron Norton grabbed six ground balls and caused one turnover.
- Junior goalkeeper Kurtis Lensing secured 12 saves on 44 shots faced while playing all 60 minutes.
- Redshirt senior Josh Mauer finished 11-of-17 on faceoffs while fellow senior Brady Laurance secured a team-best seven ground balls.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Belmont Abbey produced an early 2-0 lead in the first quarter before the Trojans scored three of the next four goals, highlighted by a pair of goals by Vanderkley, 3-3.
- In the second quarter, the Crusaders quickly regained their two-goal advantage with consecutive goals before the Trojans responded with four unanswered goals. Mount Olive featured four different goal scorers in freshman Brayden Rieger, sophomore Chase Penner, Lewis and Vanderkley to hold a 7-5 edge.
- Belmont Abbey added a goal with just one second left on the clock in the second quarter to head into the break trailing by one goal.
- Following a low-scoring third quarter, the Crusaders scored at the 7:03 mark to head into the final 15 minutes, tied at 7-7.
- Belmont Abbey managed to pull away in the fourth, outscoring the Trojans by a 3-1 margin to seal the victory, 10-8.
