For the second time in as many weeks, the young Mount Olive men's lacrosse team gave a nationally-ranked opponent all it wanted. The Trojans again came away empty-handed, however, as an early lead went for naught in a 15-10 Conference Carolinas setback to No. 8 Pfeiffer Tuesday afternoon at Amon Field.
The Trojans (7-5 overall, 2-2 Conference Carolinas) were the aggressors from the opening face-off. After falling behind 1-0, Mount Olive jumped on the Falcon defense for a pair of quick goals, the first coming from Nick Sanderson with 9:16 left in the first. Thirty-six seconds later, Cameron Walsh found the back of the net for the first of three times in the match.
Despite the early outbursts, both defenses were on top of their game in the first period. Mount Olive attempted 14 of its 43 shots in the first 15 minutes. Falcon goalie Hayden Kirk turned away four shots in the period.
The Trojans dominated shots on goal early despite winning only 3-of-13 face-offs in the first half. Mount Olive made up for it by forcing nine turnovers in the first.
The Trojans extended its lead to 3-1 when Walsh struck again with 4:05 in the first. Walsh found himself one-on-one against Kirk in front of the net when he caught a wide shot from teammate Daniel Shields.
Pfeiffer closed the gap to 3-2 when leading scorer Kory Lutes three minutes into second period, then tied the game on a man-up goal from Spencer Allen 37 seconds later.
The Trojans regrouped to regain the lead on Walsh's third goal of the half -- this time assisted by Blake Bennett. After Walsh completed the hat trick, however, the Trojans' offense fell silent.
Pfeiffer scored three times in the final 4:12 of the half to take the momentum at intermission. The Trojans got a goal from Matt Shields with 1:25 left, but Pfeiffer got a goal from James Shepherd with five seconds left for a 7-5 halftime lead.
The Trojans put pressure on the Falcons again at the start of the second. Nick Sanderson scored 2:23 into the third to make it a one-run game again, then with 10:51 left, Jake Hancock made it an 8-7 game.
Mount Olive got no closer. Pfeiffer closed the period with a 4-0 run to pull away. In the fourth, Mount Olive got within 12-9 on goals by Hancock and Daniel Shields. Jake Duarte closed out the scoring for Mount Olive.
Bennett finished with a pair of assists for Mount Olive, while Spencer Gelinas, Sanderson, Matt Shields and Alex Tindall added one apiece. In goal, Rocky Bowman finished with five assists.
Shepherd had three goals for Pfeiffer.
The Trojans return to action Saturday when the Trojans travel to Queens for a 2 p.m. start.