Saints eliminate Trojans from D2 men's lacrosse nationals

By UMO Media Relations
Published in Sports on May 17, 2016 1:48 PM

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GAFFNEY, S.C. -- The streak lives.

Limestone College, unbeaten at home for more than two years, prospered again on Saturday -- this time in a national quarterfinal.

The Saints dispatched Conference Carolinas rival University of Mount Olive, 15-6, before a raucous crowd in the NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse National Championship Tournament on Saturday afternoon.

Appearances, however, can be deceiving.

Easy it was not.

UMO (13-6 overall) responded to an early Limestone goal by Mike Messenger with a flood of their own, and carrieda 6-4 advantage into halftime at Saints Field.

The catbird's seat was short-lived, however.

Limestone erupted in the second half, scoring 11 unanswered goals to claim victory and secure a spot in the national semifinals next weekend. The Saints received six goals and a assist from Mike Messenger, along with five points from second-year midfielder Ryan Maciejewski.

The Saints held a 49-21 advantage in shots on goal, and won the battle of groundballs, 45-20.

UMO was paced by Jacob Ball, who registered two assists. All-America pipesman Ross Bowman stopped 17 Limestone shots.

Six different players logged a goal for UMO.

The Saints have now won 20 consecutive matches, tying their own record, and seven in a row in NCAA tournament play. The team will march a 32-match win streak into the national semis versus the University of Tampa, who spilled Mercyhurst in an extra session Saturday.

Next weekend's play will begin at 1 p.m.