Men’s Lacrosse stuns Mount Olive, off to best start since 2013

SALISBURY, N.C. – The Catawba College men's lacrosse team defied history and knocked off defending Conference Carolinas champion Mount Olive, 14-11, at Shuford Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba (2-0) delivered 14 strikes on 40 attempts while Mount Olive (0-1) was more accurate with less volume, netting 11 goals on 27 shots

- Ground balls favored the hosts by a 38-28 margin

- The blue and white took better care of the rock, finishing the contest with 11 turnovers — half of the giveaways committed by UMO

- The 29 faceoffs were distributed close to evenly as the Trojans commanded a narrow 15-14 edge; Catawba's Cael Petroff went 14-for-25

- Each team landed in the penalty box for three minutes, but the Catawba Indians logged one more infraction

- UMO's Kurtis Lensing turned in 14 saves for an even .500 day in the crease while Brady Gauntner made five saves to improve to 2-0

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Frank Cetrone collected a game-high five points on three scores and a pair of assists

- Peyton Turner netted two goals and dished out two assists

- Jordan Dash notched his fourth career hat trick with a trio of darts

- Six different Catawba Indians had one-goal outings including Wyatt Molyneux who delivered the first of his career

- Owen Conway scooped up a whopping seven ground balls and recorded a team-best three caused turnovers

- Tanner Stout and Xan Varner logged three ground balls apiece, while Steven Hernandez and Kier McKnight each forced two takeaways

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter

- Catawba scored on its second shot of the game as Michael Lindsey drove and fired to the twine 68 seconds after the opening whistle

- Three straight UMO turnovers kept the visitors quiet as the blue and white scored again midway through the period from the stick of Turner

- The Trojans halved the Catawba lead 17 seconds into a man-up opportunity thanks to a Benjamin Vanderkley strike

- A strip by Conway opened another possession for Catawba near the end of the stanza, which Turner capitalized on to stretch the gap to 3-1

Second Quarter

- Cetrone supplied a man-up goal while absorbing a heavy hit to draw a second minute-long penalty

- UMO refused another score, instead forcing the hosts to turn the ball over before netting three consecutive goals to tie the game at 4-4

- Catawba responded quickly as Molyneux and Cetrone found paydirt in the next 1:38

- The hosts killed a penalty before Jack Mercer chalked his name onto the scoresheet with a goal, giving Catawba a 7-4 advantage at halftime

Third Quarter

- Dash missed wide to begin the half, but an Andrew Crumpacker ground ball pickup kept Catawba on the attack to let Dash fire again, this time hitting his target

- Jack Lewis and Vanderkley bookended a Stout bullseye to lower the UMO deficit back to three

- A trio of faceoff wins for Petroff allowed Catawba to double down on its lead with two Dash goals and one for Cetrone, boosting the score to 12-6 with 15 minutes to play

Fourth Quarter

- The Trojans used strikes by Joshua Dewart and Zachary Taylor to pull within four inside the 12-minute mark

- Hunter Clarke sent a feed from Devin Trzeciak to the back of the net moments later

- After Tanner Meijas caused a turnover to spoil a Catawba extra-man chance, Chase Penner brought the margin to 13-9 on a 54th-minute dart

- Garrett Simi connected with Cetrone for the junior's third tally as UMO scored twice in the final two minutes, but the hosts had ample insurance to capture a 14-11 triumph

GAME NOTES

- Catawba halted Mount Olive's run of 11 straight wins in the series

- The Trojans have prevented Catawba from starting 2-0 multiple times in the previous 11 seasons; that streak is over

- UMO was receiving votes in the USILA preseason poll and held a No. 20 ranking from USA Lacrosse

UP NEXT

The Catawba Indians continue an early three-game homestand on Saturday, Feb. 15 against Belmont Abbey at noon.