Mount Olive used a defense that turned away visiting Coker time and time again to win its first Conference Carolinas men's lacrosse game, 15-5 over the Cobras Wednesday night at Amon Field. Trojan goalkeeper Rocky Bowman turned away a season-high 13 shots on goal as the Trojans won their third in a row.
Mount Olive was at its best when it was a man down. A penalty-prone Trojan squad allowed Coker 13 man-up opportunities. Coker scored on just three of them, including just 1-for-10 in the second half. The Cobras managed to get back in the game after falling behind early by scoring twice on a single man-up chance. Goals by Mike Martiello and Timothy Smith 24 seconds apart closed the gap to 4-2.
The Trojans (5-3 overall, 1-0 Conference Carolinas) rebuilt their lead with a dominating second period. Bowman took matters into his own hands at the 11:26 mark. After picking up a save on a shot from Smith, Bowman launched a long pass to teammate Matt Shields who raced the final 20 yards and buried the ball in the back of the net for a 5-2 lead. Matt Shields finished with four goals in the contest. Bowman's assist was his first of the season.
Less than two minutes later, Cameron Walsh scored, then after the Cobras retaliated to close within 6-3, Nick Sanderson scored off a Blake Bennett assist. With just 45 seconds left in the half, Matt Shields added a third goal with an assist from brother Daniel Shields, who finished with two goals and two assists.
The surge gave Mount Olive an 8-3 lead at intermission. Things could have been worse for Coker (2-8, 0-4) as a last-minute goal by Mount Olive was wiped out by a penalty.
The second half belonged to the Trojans. Mount Olive outshot Coker 21-14 in the second half and outscored Coker 7-2.