No. 20 UMO falls in home opener

MOUNT OLIVE – In a top-25 nationally ranked contest, No. 20 Mount Olive fell by a 10-8 margin against No. 25 St. Leo in non-conference action on Feb. 10 in the season opener at the Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex.

Eight minutes into the game, the Lions were off to a quick start as Fiona McLaughlin netted the initial three goals of the match to put St. Leo ahead 3-0. After a caused turnover and ground ball pick up by graduate student Alexis Stanley, Mount Olive put one on the board with a goal by senior Bria Hamilton to cut the lead to 3-1. Following a save by junior goalkeeper Jane Hobbs, the Trojans reversed field, and graduate student Morgan Paige put one past the keeper to trim the deficit to 3-2. The Lions closed the first quarter with a goal, ending the period ahead 4-2.

Starting off the second, St. Leo gained another goal at the 13:40 mark before Hamilton was awarded a free position shot and scored her second goal of the game and Mount Olive trailed 5-3. St. Leo stretched the advantage back to three goals with just under two minutes left. At the 1:54 mark, graduate student Ali Davis dodged her defender to score and close the first half of the game with St. Leo ahead 6-4.

Opening the second half of the game, the Lions scored the first goal at the 13:10 mark of the third quarter to lead 7-4. Mount Olive worked hard defensively as they shut out the Lions for the remainder of the third quarter. With 21 seconds left on the clock, sophomore Teagan Dunnett rounded the crease and scored the last goal of the quarter to cut the St. Leo lead to 7-5.

In the final 15 minutes of the game, St. Leo scored another goal to stretch the advantage back to three goals, 8-5. Rewarded with a free position shot at the 10:05 mark, sophomore Lena DeFilippo scored to cut into the deficit to 8-6. Fighting for a larger lead, SLU responded by increasing the lead to 9-6. Goals by graduate student Zoe Dougherty and senior Ellie Fedrorwski brought the Trojans within one at 9-8. Mount Olive battled hard to level the match, but the Lions sealed their road victory with a goal at the 1:58 mark.

Hobbs set a program record of 22 saves in a single game. She faced 38 shots, with 32 shots on goal in her first career start at Mount Olive. Hamilton recorded two goals and one draw control. Teammate Logan Hibbard recorded three ground balls and caused two turnovers.

— From University of Mount Olive Athletics