MOUNT OLIVE (April 8) – Despite a strong start to the contest, the Trojan offense was stifled for nearly two quarters and ultimately fell short to No. 23 Lander by a 10-8 margin in non-conference action on Tuesday.
With the loss, the Trojans see their six-game winning streak snapped and fall to 7-7 overall while facing six nationally-ranked opponents this season. Lander won its first game in the series with Mount Olive, which today marked the fourth meeting all-time. Meanwhile, the Bearcats continue their stellar campaign and improve to 10-3 this season with a perfect 4-0 record on the road.
Fifth-year
Logan Hibbard tallied two goals, one assist, two draw controls, two caused turnovers, and five ground balls on Tuesday. Senior
Rileigh White also had a three-point performance with one goal and two assists. Freshman Reese Weedle registered one goal and one assist, while redshirt sophomore
Katie Broom scored two goals.
In a low-scoring first quarter, the Trojans jumped ahead by a 2-0 margin following goals from Broom and White in the opening 10 minutes. The Bearcats capitalized on a turnover in the closing seconds and netted a goal to trim the deficit, 2-1. Lander carried the momentum in the second quarter with five unanswered goals to take a 6-2 advantage at the break.
The Bearcats eventually stretched the lead to 8-2 in the third quarter, but UMO responded with goals by sophomore
Kayanna Bowden and Hibbard, 8-4. Mount Olive quickly made it a two-score game in the initial five minutes of the fourth as Hibbard and Weedle rattled the back of the cage, 8-6. Lander managed to build the lead to 10-6 with just under three minutes left. Despite two goals in the final 14 seconds from sophomore
Caroline Clark and Broom, the Trojans fell 10-8.
Freshman goalkeeper
Lily Mahoney suffered the loss in the start after surrendering six goals and collecting three saves in 24 minutes of play. Senior
Anna James finished the final 35:52 of the game and made three stops. Defensively, Hibbard, Bowden, junior
Giavahna Gasdia, sophomore
Simone McCraw, and freshman
Tori Cook each recorded two caused turnovers.
Lander finished with a 27-20 edge in the total shots, while UMO went 18-of-20 on clearances.
The Trojans return this Saturday, April 12, with a non-conference game scheduled at Newberry with the start time set for 2 p.m.
