Cameron Walsh triggered a seven-goal run that put University of Mount Olive ahead to stay and Daniel Shields' goal with one minute left in the game thwarted a fourth-period rally as the Trojans held on to beat Southern New Hampshire 9-6 in non-conference men's lacrosse Thursday at Westminster, Md. Trojan goalkeeper Ross Bowman broke his own school record with 18 saves in the contest, which was played at McDaniel College.
Mount Olive (4-1) was down 2-0 when Bowman made a pair of saves 23 seconds apart in the first period before Walsh put the Trojans on the scoreboard with 10:04 left. Matt Shields tied the game two minutes into the second period and Walsh put the Trojans on top for the first time with 10:58 remaining. Walsh assisted on Matt Shields' second goal with 2:25 left to give Mount Olive a 4-2 lead at the half.
Alex Tindall and Dan Shields scored goals less than two minutes apart early in the third period to extend Mount Olive's lead to 6-2 and Dan Shields' man-up goal with 9:53 completed the Trojans' seven-goal run. Southern New Hampshire (0-2) ended a 37-minute scoreless drought on Zach Jacobs' goal with 4:26 left in the third period.
Dan Shields scored another man-up goal with 12:54 left in the fourth period to give Mount Olive an 8-3 lead before Southern New Hampshire's Crosby Nicholson sparked a Penmen rally. Nicholson scored two goals in 46 seconds to cut Mount Olive's lead to two goals with 8:48 left and his man-up goal after a delay of game penalty pulled SNHU within 8-6 with exactly three minutes remaining.
Southern New Hampshire won the ensuing face off, but Bowman recorded a save on the Penmen's first shot attempt. A second shot was wide and the Trojans blocked a third shot to regain possession with 1:33 left. Dan Shields gave Mount Olive some breathing room with his third goal of the game and Bowman's save with 14 seconds left led to a successful clear as the Trojans ran out the clock.
Bowman recorded his 14th save with 7:53 left in the contest to tie his school record and broke his own record with 6:15 remaining. Bowman tallied 14 saves on two occasions last year, March 2 against Lake Erie and March 9 against Florida Tech.
Mount Olive was originally scheduled to open its two-game spring break Mid-Atlantic trip Tuesday with a non-conference game at University of District of Columbia, but the contest was canceled due to unplayable field conditions caused by rain. McDaniel College, an NCAA Division III institution, agreed to host Thursday's neutral site game.
Mount Olive returns to action Wednesday as the Trojans play host to Alderson-Broaddus in a non-conference match-up. Game time is 3 p.m. at Amon Field.