University of Mount Olive had its school record seven-game winning streak snapped as the Trojans fell to nationally third-ranked Limestone 14-6 in Conference Carolinas men's lacrosse Sunday at Gaffney, S.C. Matt Shields led the Trojans with three goals.
Mount Olive (9-2 overall, 1-1 Conference Carolinas) spotted Limestone (10-1, 1-0) a pair of early goals before Shields pulled the Trojans within 2-1 with 12:10 left in the first period. Limestone came back with four unanswered goals as Kyle Rhatigan's goal with six seconds remaining gave the Saints a 6-1 advantage after one period.
Shields scored the first goal of the second period, but Rhatigan continued his streak of four consecutive Limestone goals and the Saints built a 9-2 halftime lead. The lead reached double figures early in the third period before Cameron Walsh's goal with 9:43 left ended Limestone's six-goal run and trim the score to 12-3.
Limestone took its biggest lead at 14-3 early in the fourth period, but Mount Olive scored the final three goals of the contest. Stephen Bowlan sandwiched a pair of goals around Shields' third goal to cap the game's scoring.
Trojan goalkeeper Ross Bowman recorded 11 saves, while Patrick Sheridan and Steven Christofides combined for six saves for the Saints, which outshot Mount Olive 35-20. The Trojans compiled a 10-1 shot advantage in the fourth period.
Mount Olive has received votes in the USILA Division II Men's Lacrosse Top 15 Poll in each of the last three weeks, but is still seeking its first win over a nationally ranked team. Mount Olive will face its second straight ranked opponent as the Trojans travel to Misenheimer, N.C., Wednesday to take on No. 7 Pfeiffer in a Conference Carolinas match-up. Face off is 4 p.m.