Mount Olive sophomore Alex Crawford scored a career-high five goals and the Trojans kept alive their hopes of a tournament berth with a 19-6 Conference Carolinas women's lacrosse win over Lees-McRae Saturday afternoon at Banner Elk, N.C.
As a Trojan, Crawford scored a single goal in five separate games this season. She matched that mark with 19:33 left in the first half, giving the Trojans (8-6 Overall, 2-4 Conference Carolinas) the lead for good 3-2. Less than two minutes later, Crawford struck a second time as Mount Olive reeled off six unanswered goals after spotting the Bobcats a 2-0 lead.
Maddy Biggar and Allie Dunn struck before intermission to give Mount Olive an 8-5 lead. In the second half, the Trojans could not be stopped. Crawford and Heather Cockburn scored moments into the second half before Lees-McRae (3-6, 0-4) responded. Olivia Gudewich's tally with 18:24 left in the contest was the Bobcats' only marker of the second half.
Biggar got her second score 14 seconds later to start a 9-0 Mount Olive run to end the contest. It marked the fifth time this season the Trojans have held an opponent to six goals or fewer.
The Trojans' win keeps them in the hunt for a spot in the conference tournament in two weeks. The Trojans are two games behind Belmont Abbey and Converse in the loss column. Belmont Abbey lost to Queens Saturday, while Converse meets Lees-McRae Monday.
Six Trojans scored at least two goals against Lees-McRae. Riann Daziel tallied three scores, while Cockburn, Caitlin Sabadish, Allie Dunn and Biggar finished with two apiece. Michelle Scannell, Sarah Fischer and Alanna Bauche had one apiece.
Crawford added a team-high three assists, while Fischer had two and Daziel, Biggar and Candace Corkin had one apiece.
Defensively, Crawford had six forced turnovers, while Scannell had four. In goal, Sarah Snell finished with seven saves. Scannell also had six of the Trojans' 47 ground balls.
The Trojans return home to close out the regular season next weekend. On Friday, Newberry comes to Amon Field for a non-conference game at 4 p.m., then Converse comes to Mount Olive Saturday for a p.m. contest that could decide the final tournament spot.