TIGERVILLE, S.C. (March 28) –The Trojans lost 11–10 against North Greenville in a fast-paced, action-packed Conference Carolinas game on Saturday in Tigerville, South Carolina, after failing to overcome the one-goal deficit.
The loss ends the University of Mount Olive men's lacrosse team's three-game winning streak and drops them to 4-5 overall and 4-2 in conference play. With a 4-2 record in league play, North Greenville rises to 8-5 overall.
The Trojans had five different goal scorers, with junior
Trent Steele leading the way with a four-point effort (three goals, one assist), three turnovers, and five groundball steals. Senior
Benjamin Vanderkley finished with two goals, junior
Mikey Stavrianakis and senior
Micaiah Boyle each scored one, and sophomore
Brayden Rieger finished with three. On defense, freshman
David Androes recorded two caused turnovers, three groundballs, and one assist, while freshman
Gannon Hackler recorded three caused turnovers and one groundball. Along with two groundballs, senior
Garrett Bandelin also had two turnovers.
North Greenville dominated the opening quarter, leading the Trojans 4-1 after allowing their first goal at 11:45. At 5:20, Rieger scored thanks to an assist from Boyle. After a sluggish first quarter, UMO was able to generate some heat in the second quarter thanks to goals from Vanderkley at 14:04 and 13:56, as well as assists from Androes and Steele. Senior
Joshua Dewart assisted Stravrianakis on a man-up opportunity.
The Trojans excelled in the second half, tying the score at 10-10 in the fourth quarter with six goals. When Mount Olive managed to score again after falling behind by five goals, the competition was fierce, but goal leaders Steele, Rieger, and Boyle were able to capitalize, scoring five, six, seven, and eight, nine, and ten goals for the Trojans. The Trojans lost the game because they were unable to respond to the tie-breaking goal scored by the Trailblazers at 7:54.
Senior goalkeeper
Kurtis Lensing recorded 11 saves on 22 shots in his 60 minutes of play still managing to steal 3 ground balls.
Mount Olive and NGU were tied with shots on goal both having 22 but having a better clear average with 20-22.
The Trojans will recognize their seniors at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 4, at the Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex to compete against Lees-McRae.
