Mount Olive women's lacrosse is getting used to playing in adverse conditions. The Trojans have won in the rain and the snow. Friday afternoon, they won in the mud, breaking open a close game late in the first half to post a 12-8 non-conference win over Newberry at Amon Field. The win assures the Trojans a winning record in their first season.
Mount Olive (9-6) led just 4-3 when Caitlin Sabadish started a 3-0 Trojan spurt to end the first half. Sabadish's goal, her ninth of the season came after Wolves' goalkeeper Morgan Raffaele denied her on her first attempt. Sabadish corralled the rebound and sent the ball home to stop Newberry's momentum. The Wolves fell behind 3-0 early before closing within a goal.
All momentum came to a halt with 4:28 left in the first half when the skies erupted. The downpour turned into a brief thunderstorm that suspended play for more than an hour. The already rain-soaked field turned into a quagmire that affected both teams' ability to hold on to the ball and get good footing.
The Trojans pushed forward upon returning to the field as Michelle Scannell and Alysha Kulka struck less than two minutes apart to give Mount Olive a 7-3 cushion at intermission. Scannell scored two of her four goals in the first half. She completed the hat trick 3:22 into the second half with help from a Kara Lyon assist. Ryan Daziel followed 25 seconds later with her team-high 40th goal to stretch the lead to 9-3.
Alex Crawford also scored multiple goals for the Trojans. Her three markers helped keep the Wolves at arm's length in the second half. Crawford and Scannell scored four minutes apart in the second half to build the lead to seven, the Trojans' largest of the contest.
In all, seven Trojans found the back of the net in the contest. Daziel, Sarah Fischer, Kulka and Sabadish each scored once. Lyon and Candace Corkin dished out two assists apiece, while Heather Cockburn, Daziel, Fischer and Kulka had one assist each.
Defensively, the Trojans won the battle for ground balls, holding a 24-10 advantage. Cockburn led the way for the Trojans with seven grounders, while Jihee Choi finished with four. In goal Sarah Snell recorded nine saves.
Mount Olive returns to action Saturday with its regular season finale, a 7 p.m. showdown with Conference Carolinas rival Converse.