Posted: Mar 04, 2017
Mount Olive, N.C. – The 8th-ranked University of Mount Olive men's lacrosse team came back to defeat No. 4 Mercyhurst, 8-7, in overtime at the US Lacrosse National Headquarters' Tierney Field on Saturday afternoon in Sparks, Md.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Mount Olive 8, Mercyhurst 7
Records: Mount Olive (4-0, 0-0 CC), Mercyhurst (2-1)
Location: Tierney Field, Sparks, Md.
How It Happened
Play-by-Play
FIRST QUARTER
- Mount Olive fell behind in the first as Mercyhurst scored with 11:29 left in the opening quarter.
- The Lakers tacked on a second goal with just over five minutes to play to increase their lead.
- Austin Whitlow stopped the bleeding with six seconds remaining as he scored an unassisted goal to bring the deficit to 2-1.
SECOND QUARTER
- Mount Olive was outscored in the second quarter 3-to-2 as Mercyhurst held onto the momentum with a 5-3 lead heading into the break.
THIRD QUARTER
- Neither team made much progress on the scoreboard as a defensive third quarter amounted to single goals for both squads taking a 6-4 lead for Mercyhurst into the final frame.
FOURTH QUARTER
- The Trojans made a push in the final quarter, as Jacob Ball scored with 10:14 to open up the scoring in the fourth.
- Gunner Parson tied the game with 6:36 left as Thatcher Clark found an open Parson for the goal.
- Mercyhurst answered late as James Crowe found the back of the net with 1:13 left to give the Lakers the 7-6 lead.
- UMO forced a Mercyhurst turnover with 40 seconds on a clear attempt by the Lakers. Jesse Mitchell then grabbed the ground ball and the Trojans transitioned into offense. Mount Olive worked the ball around and with just 10 to go Clark found Mitchell who then ripped a shot into the back of the net and tied the game at seven.
- After winning the faceoff, Mercyhurst attempted a shot with five seconds left but Trojan keeper Will Urban came up with a key save.
OVERTIME
- Both teams put pressure on each other's keeper as three shots were recorded in the first four minutes.
- Mount Olive came up with another caused turnover against the Lakers with 49 seconds left. Junior Davyd Powell picked up the groundball and put UMO back into offense as the Trojans clear was successful.
- Jacob Ball 13 seconds later gave Mount Olive the golden goal as he let the ball fly and the Trojans took home the 8-7 win.
KEY STATS
- Ball led the Trojans' offense with two goals, including the game-winner.
- Defensively, sophomore Austin Peper led the way with two caused turnovers and two groundballs.
- Junior Will Urban (4-0) earned the victory in between the pipes with 15 saves.
- UMO won the face-off battle 10-to-8 over the Lakers.
UP NEXT
Mount Olive will stay on the road for a match-up with Lake Erie in Painsville, Ohio on March 8. The opening face-off is scheduled for 12 p.m.