MOUNT OLIVE – The University of Mount Olive men’s lacrosse team delivered a complete team effort on Saturday afternoon in an 18-4 victory over Young Harris in Conference Carolinas action at Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex.
With the win, the Trojans extend their winning streak to three in a row and improve to 5-3 overall behind a 2-0 record in league action.
It marked the first meeting between the sides since 2014 with Young Harris officially joining Conference Carolinas this year.
Meanwhile, the Mountain Lions drop to 3-6 this season with a 0-2 mark in conference play.
Senior Aidan Lalonde registered a third consecutive five-point performance (four goals, one assist), while senior Jack Lewis and sophomore Hudson Karasek each produced a hat trick.
In the first quarter, Lalonde scored the opening goal of the contest off an assist by graduate student Samuel Skousen at the 13:32 mark, 1-0. The Trojans increased the lead to 2-0 with seven-plus minutes left in the quarter after Lewis found the back of the net.
The Mountain Lions countered with back-to-back goals over the final six minutes to tie the contest at 2-2. Mount Olive scored seven unanswered goals in the second quarter, including three from Lalonde to complete the first-half hat trick.
Young Harris halted its scoreless drought at the 7:35 mark before Lewis scored the final goal of the second quarter to take a 10-3 advantage into the break.
The Mountain Lions cut into the deficit in the third after netting a goal at the 8:48 mark, but UMO responded with four straight goals over the final eight minutes of the quarter.
During that stretch, Karasek registered a pair of goals while fifth-year Chaz Goodman and senior Elijah Cobb got onto the scoresheet. In the fourth quarter, the Trojan defense held YHC scoreless while forcing seven turnovers and collecting three saves.
On the offensive side, UMO found the back of the cage four more times, as Karasek and Lewis completed their hat tricks.
Sophomore Kurtis Lensing secured the win after recording double-digit saves with 11 in 54-plus minutes of action. Sophomore Benjamin Vanderkley recorded three caused turnovers and seven ground balls behind a three-point performance (one goal, two assists).
Junior Cameron Norton finished with two caused turnovers and seven ground balls.
Redshirt junior Josh Mauer went 15-of-22 on faceoffs while collecting five ground balls against the Mountain Lions.
Mount Olive is idle for a week before returning to action at Noon on Mar. 30, for a road contest at conference opponent North Greenville.
