Dan Shields scored the tying goal off an assist by Nico Shewey with five seconds left in regulation and assisted on Matt Shields' goal in overtime as University of Mount Olive rallied from a late three-goal deficit for an 11-10 victory over nationally seventh-ranked Pfeiffer University in Conference Carolinas men's lacrosse Wednesday at Misenheimer, N.C. The win was the first over a nationally ranked team in the two-year history of the UMO men's lacrosse program. The Trojans have received votes in the USILA Division II Top 15 Poll in each of the last four weeks.
Mount Olive (10-2 overall, 2-1 Conference Carolinas) trailed 10-7 after Pfeiffer (8-2, 2-1) scored a man-up goal with 4:59 left in regulation. Stephen Bowlan started the Trojans rally 65 seconds later with a goal off an assist from Luke Morris.
The Trojans withstood a 30-second penalty, then capitalized on a slashing penalty against the Falcons with less than two minutes remaining. Brett Kingston scored a man-up goal with 1:29 left to pull Mount Olive within 10-9.
Pfeiffer won the ensuing face off, but Ross Bowman made a save on a quick Falcon shot with 1:20 left to keep it a one-goal game. The Trojans' clear attempt failed and Pfeiffer ran the clock down before calling timeout with 20 seconds left.
The Falcons turned the ball over out of the timeout and called another timeout with 12 seconds left, setting the stage for the Trojans' tying goal.
Shewey drove the ball to the net and passed to Dan Shields left of the net. Shields made a leaping catch and in one motion, shot into the top corner to tie game 10-10 and send the contest into overtime.
Tyler Feniello won the face off in the four-minute overtime period and after running just over a minute off the clock, the Trojans called timeout. Dan Shields then found Matt Shields for the winning goal with 2:28 left in overtime.
Mount Olive took its first lead of the game with 4:46 left in the second period after Alex Tindall's goal completed a 3-0 run and put the Trojans on top 5-4. Pfeiffer used a pair of goals by Steven Tilmon to regain the lead and the Falcons remained on top until the final five seconds of regulation.
Cameron Walsh led Mount Olive with three goals, while the Shields brothers each added two goals. Dan Shields recorded three assists. Bowman finished with 11 saves.
Mount Olive plays its regular season finale Saturday as the Trojans play host to Belmont Abbey in Conference Carolinas action. Face off is 2 p.m. at Amon Field.