MOUNT OLIVE – The senior duo of Aidan Lalonde and Chapman Parker combined for 10 points (six goals, four assists) on Saturday, as the University of Mount Olive men’s lacrosse program registered a 12-9 victory over Southern New Hampshire in non-conference play.
With the win, the Trojans improved to 3-3 this season behind a 3-1 mark at Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex.
The two sides met for the first time since 2015 with Mount Olive winning all three meetings in the series. Meanwhile, the Penmen drop to 1-3 overall with a pair of losses coming by one goal.
In the first quarter, Parker scored the opening goal of the game, his fourth of the year, to take a 1-0 advantage at the 11:17 mark. Lalonde netted back-to-back goals in a four-plus minute stretch to extend the lead to 3-0 before Parker tallied his second goal of the game at the 2:43 mark. Just 29 seconds later, sophomore Hudson Karasek registered his fifth goal of the season to take a 5-0 edge.
The Penmen ended their scoreless drought with 1:13 left in the quarter to trim the deficit to 5-1. After a penalty carried over the second quarter, senior Chaz Goodman scored off an assist from Parker to regain the five-goal advantage in the opening seconds. In a low-scoring second quarter, SNHU tallied the final goal at the 4:12 mark, as UMO held a 6-2 lead at halftime.
In the third, Parker found senior Matthew Ateshian for a goal on a man-up opportunity in the initial minute of the quarter. Senior Elijah Cobb scored his first goal of the season nearly two minutes later to extend the advantage to 8-2.
The Penmen scored three of the next four goals to close the gap to 9-5, but during the stretch, Lalonde logged his hat trick at the 10:05 mark. Sophomore Benjamin Vanderkley netted a man-up goal with an assist recorded by Lalonde with just over six minutes left to reclaim a five-goal lead, 10-5.
SNHU produced back-to-back goals to trail 10-7 early in the final quarter before Cobb found the back of the cage again at the 11:24 mark, 11-7.
The Penmen scored two of the final three goals, as Mount Olive sealed a 12-9 win.
Lalonde finished with four goals and one assist, while Parker netted a pair of goals with three assists.
Sophomore Kurtis Lensing totaled double-digit saves with 11 while recording three ground balls in 60 minutes of action.
Redshirt junior Josh Mauer won 10 face-offs and led the team with eight ground balls. On defense, senior Tanner Meijas recorded two caused turnovers and three ground balls.
Mount Olive opens Conference Carolinas play on Mar. 16, versus Lees-McRae at noon.
