Mount Olive upsets No. 14 Seton Hill
MOUNT OLIVE – Facing off against nationally ranked No. 14 Seton Hill on March 18, the University of Mount Olive men’s lacrosse team secured an 8-6 win at the Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex in non-conference action.
With the win, the Trojans improved to 2-5 this season with head coach Dylan Price winning his first home game at the helm of the program. Meanwhile, the Griffins dropped to 3-3 this season.
In the opening minutes of the contest, senior Chaz Goodman passed the ball to junior Aidan Lalonde, who found the back of the net to score the first goal of the game. At the 9:58 mark of the match, Seton Hill tied the game at 1-1. With a great defensive effort by junior goalkeeper Jacob Brown, the Trojans were able to keep the match tied. Finishing the first quarter, Mount Olive took the lead with a goal by graduate student Braydon Hickey off a pass from Goodman to lead 2-1. At the start of the second quarter, both teams worked aggressively to put the ball in the back of the cage. For nearly 11 minutes, both teams remained scoreless until graduate student Blake Tallon caught the rebounded ball and stuffed it in the back of the net at the 3:39-mark of the match to put UMO up 3-1. With 31 seconds left, Seton Hill closed the first half with a goal, bringing the score within one, 3-2.
SHU started the second half hungry as they took two shots on goal, both saved by Brown. Mount Olive was able to gain possession in hope of keeping their lead. Off a pass by freshman Benjamin Vanderkley, Lalonde scored his second goal of the game to put UMO ahead 4-2. Mount Olive then took its largest lead of the game with two back-to-back goals from Lalonde and Vanderkley. Closing the third quarter, the Griffins saw no goals in this frame. At the start of the last quarter, Seton Hill netted the first goal at the 13:33-mark and UMO led 6-3. With a man-up opportunity, a pass from junior Chapman Parker led to Lalonde scoring his fourth goal of the match to put the Trojans ahead 7-3. Near the end of the game, Seton Hill was able to score three unanswered goals to bring the match within one, 7-6. With one possession opportunity left, Mount Olive won the face-off and secured the game-winning goal by Parker.
Lalonde scored a season-high of four goals. Going 12 of 18, graduate student Mike Marto was able to win 66.7 percent of the face-offs, while fellow teammate Brady Laurence secured seven ground balls.
Goalkeeper Brown had 15 saves after facing 21 shots on goal.
— From University of Mount Olive Athletics
