Mount Olive College roundup

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on October 23, 2005 2:17 AM

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MOC Sports Information

MOUNT OLIVE -- Gina Dos Santos broke a scoreless tie with a goal in the 58th minute and assisted on Lyndsay Brennan's goal 11 minutes later as Mount Olive defeated Lees-McRae 2-0 in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference women's soccer Saturday at Trojan Field. The win moves the Trojans in a three-way tie for first place in the conference points standings.

Mount Olive (12-6-0 overall, 8-2-0 CVAC) almost got on the scoreboard in the third minute of the match when Brennan served to Emily Escolas in the box, but Escolas' shot was just wide left. Lees-McRae (2-10-2, 1-7-1) threatened to take an early lead when Mount Olive turned the ball over in their half on consecutive possessions, but Trojan goalkeeper Heather Ulep covered a loose ball in the box before the Bobcats could get a shot as the two teams went into halftime tied 0-0.

Mount Olive broke the deadlock at the 58:00 mark when Jessica Smoot served to Dos Santos at the top of the box and Dos Santos put home her conference-leading 19th goal of the season to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead. Mount Olive added a second goal at the 69:14 mark when Dos Santos' shot deflected off Lees-McRae goalkeeper Anita Hekman and Brennan followed up with her 10th goal of the season.

Lees-McRae narrowly missed closing within a goal on Leslie Myers' shot from the top left of the box, but Ulep fisted the ball over the crossbar and Lees-McRae was unable to score on the subsequent corner kick.

Ulep finished with two saves as she recorded her second collegiate shutout, both in conference play. Hekman finished with three saves for Lees-McRae. Mount Olive outshot Lees-McRae 14-4.

Mount Olive returns to action Tuesday as the Trojans travel to Salisbury, N.C., to take on nationally ninth-ranked Catawba in a non-conference match-up. Match time is 5 p.m. Lees-McRae plays host to Belmont Abbey in a CVAC match-up Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Men's soccer

MOUNT OLIVE -- Both teams scored a goal in the final minute of regulation, but Michael Shope's header off a loose ball in the box in the fifth minute of overtime lifted regionally seventh-ranked Lees-McRae to a 2-1 victory over regional No. 5 Mount Olive in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference men's soccer Saturday at Trojan Field. The official result, however, is under administrative review due to the ejections of both Lees-McRae coaches.

Mount Olive (11-4-1 overall, 6-2-0 CVAC) had an early scoring chance on Chris Varela's 25-yard shot in the 13th minute, but Lees-McRae goalkeeper Gerry Nielsen dove to deflect the ball away. Lees-McRae (8-5-0, 4-3-0) had a flurry of attacks over the next two minutes, but Trojan goalkeeper Chris Roush made two saves and captured a ball on an indirect kick. Bradley Carroll nearly put Mount Olive on the board with a header off of Ryan Brown's indirect kick, but Nielsen deflected the ball at the last second as the match remained scoreless going into halftime.

Trojan midfielder Chris Jasso stopped a potential Lees-McRae breakaway in the 70th minute with a steal in the Mount Olive defensive third, then dribbled the ball to midfield and served to the box, drawing a foul on Lees-McRae. But Mount Olive was unable to capitalize on the penalty kick as the shot caromed off the crossbar.

The match was still tied 0-0 after 89 minutes, setting up a wild 60 seconds. Jasso served a ball in the box to Reid Clewis, who headed the ball into the back of the net to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead with 51 seconds left in regulation. Lees-McRae answered with a long service from midfield and Mount Olive was called for a foul just outside the top of the box with 29 seconds remaining. Berin Boracic's 19-yard direct kick tied the match 1-1 and sent the match into overtime.

Mount Olive had two shots in the overtime, but both went wide. Lees-McRae served a ball into the box in the fifth minute and Shope headed the ball at 94:45 to end the match.

Mount Olive outshot Lees-McRae 18-10 for the match. Roush finished with four saves for the Trojans, while Nielsen had eight saves for the Bobcats. A total of 49 fouls were whistled in the match -- on Mount Olive and 23 on Lees-McRae.

At the 71:22 mark, Lees-McRae head coach Chris Whalley was issued a yellow card for protesting a call. After continuing to protest, he was issued a red card. In the intermission prior to overtime, Lees-McRae assistant coach Calvin Dixon was issued a red card for communicating with Whalley after Whalley had been ejected. Lees-McRae has an additional assistant coach on the staff, but he did not make the trip.

The conference office will determine whether Lees-McRae's win will stand or if it will be reversed because Lees-McRae did not have a coach on the field while the game was in progress.

Saturday's contest was the Trojans' final home contest of the regular season. Mount Olive is off until Saturday when the Trojans travel to Wilson, N.C., to take on Barton in their regular season finale. Match time is 3 p.m. Lees-McRae plays host to Belmont Abbey Wednesday at 5 p.m. in CVAC action.

Women's Volleyball

MOUNT OLIVE -- Sam Mitchell and Heidi Busch tallied 18 kills apiece and Mount Olive withstood a late rally to defeat Belmont Abbey 30-21, 30-24, 35-33 in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference volleyball Saturday at Kornegay Arena. The win is the 100th career victory for Trojan seniors Busch, Sara Christie and Colby Mangum.

Mount Olive (19-6 overall, 12-1 CVAC) erased an early deficit in game one as Mitchell recorded five kills during a 7-1 run to give the Trojans a 10-6 lead. Belmont Abbey (11-7, 9-6) rallied to take a 13-12 lead after back-to-back aces by Sarah Halligan. But Mount Olive took the lead for good as Mallory Peavler's second ace of the game capped a 5-0 run to break a 16-16 tie and Belmont Abbey never got closer than four points the rest of the way.

The two teams traded early service runs in game two as Belmont Abbey took a 7-6 lead. But Mitchell served for four consecutive points to cap a 13-3 run and put Mount Olive ahead 19-10. The Trojans built the lead to as many as 12 points before the Crusaders chipped away, forcing sideouts on five consecutive Mount Olive services to pull within 29-24. But the Trojans got a sideout of their own on game point to take a two-game lead.

Belmont Abbey scored the first four points of game three and held a 22-17 lead after Halligan's service. The Trojans trailed 29-27, but after a sideout saved one game point, Mangum's service point tied the game at 29-29. Mount Olive took its first lead of game three at 32-31, but Belmont Abbey saved a match point. The Crusaders fought off a second match point to tie the match 33-33, but the Trojans got a sideout and sealed the win on Mitchell's service.

Busch improved her career kills total to 2,283, moving her within four kills of ninth place on the NCAA II volleyball all-time list. Sara Christie finished with 46 assists to give her 5,499 for her career, the 25th-highest in NCAA II history.

Anna Luft added 10 kills and a service ace for Mount Olive. Mangum and Peavler finished with two aces apiece for the Trojans, while Nikki Murphy finished with a team-high 14 digs. Busch finished with 13 digs for her third consecutive double-double. Christie added 11 digs.

Halligan led Belmont Abbey with match highs of 25 kills and five aces. Sydney Steffen added 13 kills, while Mallory Adkins recorded 35 assists. Monica Halligan tallied 34 digs and three aces.

The win extends Mount Olive's home winning streak to 19, dating back to the start of the 2004 season. The win also keeps the Trojans within one game of conference leader Lees-McRae in the CVAC standings.

Busch, Christie and Mangum have a career record of 100-40 for a .714 winning percentage.

Mount Olive returns to action Tuesday as the Trojans travel to Wilson, N.C., to take on Barton in a CVAC match-up. Match time is 6:30 p.m. Belmont Abbey travels to Lees-McRae Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in CVAC action.

Cross Country

Mount Olive finished 10th out of 10 teams in the men's competition and 10th out of 12 teams in the women's competition in the 2005 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Cross Country Championship Friday at Anderson, S.C.

In the men's race, Mount Olive came within three points of eighth-place Erskine and finished one point behind ninth-place Belmont Abbey. St. Andrews captured first place for its first-ever CVAC Cross Country title.

Senior Tim Insley was the Trojans' top finisher, running the 8k course in a time of 30:44. Insley, who earned All-CVAC Honorable Mention at last year's championship, placed 37th out of 83 runners.

Cason Cherry placed 56th with a time of 32:52, followed directly by Charles Eason in 57th with a time of exactly 33:00. Kyle Lewis was 61st at 33:41, while Gabriel Garcia was 63rd at 33:52. Garcia's time was a personal best. Corey Daub placed 70th at 34:32 and Kevin Acree was 75th at 35:20.

Lewis Martin of Lees-McRae finished first with a time of 26:58.

On the women's side, Trojan freshman Theresa Thompson shaved three seconds off her personal best for a time of 23:36 in the 5k course. Thompson finished 41st out of 75 runners.

Freshman Ashley Baldridge, the Trojans' top finisher in each of this season's first six meets, placed 46th with a time of 23:57. Krystal Kee eclipsed her personal best by 20 seconds, running the course in 24:30 to finish 50th.

Becky Garrod finished 64th with a time of 27:32, while Jillian Pruett was 69th at 29:25. Mary Hare finished 75th with a time of 34:38.

Anderson's Jennifer Hitt won individual honors for the second consecutive year, posting a course record time of 19:17. The previous record of 19:29 was set by former Mount Olive runner Beth (Schultz) Martin in the 2002 championship.

In the team standings, Mount Olive finished ahead of Coker and Limestone. Anderson won its second team championship in the last four years.

Mount Olive will compete in the 2005 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional November 5 at Wingate, N.C.

Golf

Mount Olive completed its fall men's golf season this past week with its lowest score of the year as the Trojans placed fifth out of 17 teams in the Pfeiffer/Charlotte Shootout at Rocky River Golf Club in Concord, N.C. The Trojans posted a two-round total of 599, finishing one stroke out of a tie for third place.

Mount Olive carded the fourth-lowest score among the nine Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference teams competing in the tournament.

Chris Bitzenhofer (74-74) and Mick Moberg (71-77) tied for 15th among 103 golfers with a 4-over-par 148. Brandon Barfield tied for the fourth-lowest single round with a 2-under-par 70 in the second round and finished with a 151, tying for 34th place.

Will Williams tied for 63rd with a 77-78--155, while Jonathan Greene tied for 77th with a 77-80--157.

The Trojans beat this season's previous low by seven strokes. Mount Olive won the St. Andrews Fall Invitational in September with a 606.

Tournament host Pfeiffer captured first place, finishing 15 strokes ahead of second-place Belmont Abbey. Anderson and UNC Pembroke tied for third.

The Trojans are off until the spring season starts in February. The 2006 CVAC Championship takes place in April at Hartsville, S.C.