Nationally 16th-ranked University of Mount Olive built an eight-goal fourth-quarter lead and defeated No. 9 Mercyhurst University 10-6 in non-conference men's lacrosse Saturday at Erie, Pa. The win was the Trojans' fourth over a national top 10 team in the four-year history of the UMO men's lacrosse program.
Mount Olive (6-2) entered the fourth quarter on top 6-2 after holding Mercyhurst scoreless and only two shot attempts in the third quarter. Trojan goalkeeper Ross Bowman recorded saves on both attempts and finished with 13 saves for the game to help offset Mercyhurst's 32-30 shot advantage.
Matt Shields scored two goals within the first two minutes of the fourth quarter to extend the Trojans' lead to 8-2. Goals by Brett Kingston and Spencer Gelinas 34 seconds apart capped an 8-0 run and gave Mount Olive a 10-2 advantage with 11:19 left to play.
Mercyhurst (3-1) rallied late as Connor Enright's goal with 7:41 remaining was the Lakers' first goal since just inside the midway point of the second quarter. James Crowe scored three goals for Mercyhurst in the final five minutes.
Mount Olive took the lead for good with 8:21 left in the first quarter after Austin Whitlow's goal broke a 1-1 tie. The Trojans led 4-2 at halftime and Shields' goal five minutes into the second half and Ryan Morris' goal with 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter helped Mount Olive break the game open.
Shields shared game-high honors with three goals for Mount Olive. Tyler Feniello helped set up the Trojans' offensive attack by winning 13-of-16 faceoffs.
The win was Mount Olive's second in as many years over Mercyhurst, which was ranked No. 8 at the time of last year's meeting. The Trojans' other two wins over national top 10 teams both came in 2014 against Pfeiffer, which was ranked No. 7 in the first meeting and No. 10 in the rematch in the Conference Carolinas Tournament.
Saturday's game was the third of five consecutive away contests for Mount Olive. The Trojans have no home games during the month of March.
After playing eight straight non-conference games, Mount Olive has its Conference Carolinas opener next Saturday as the Trojans travel to Tigerville, S.C., to take on North Greenville University. The Trojans won last year's meeting 12-5 at Amon Field during the Crusaders' first year of men's lacrosse.