UMO faces 2-time national men's lacrosse champ in South Region play

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 17, 2016 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

GAFFNEY, S.C. -- A daunting task awaits the University of Mount Olive, which looks to take down a heavyweight opponent and turn a fantasy into reality.

The 60-minute grind will test the Trojans' mettle.

If they're functioning like a well-oiled machine, they just might do what no other team in the country has accomplished over the past 24 months -- dethrone two-time defending NCAA Division II men's lacrosse national champion Limestone on its home field.

Face-off is 1 p.m.

The top-ranked Saints (19-0 overall) won the regular-season meeting and defeated the No. 8-ranked Trojans (13-4) in the Conference Carolinas tournament final for the third consecutive year. Limestone leads the all-time series 7-0.

"There isn't really anyone who is giving us a shot in this game, so we need to be firing on all cylinders," fourth-year UMO head coach Mike Murphy said.

And cut down on mistakes.

Ground balls, face-offs and converting shots -- says Murphy -- will ultimately determine the outcome. In their two meetings this season, the Saints have won 49 of 61 face-offs and collected 87 ground balls.

Limestone is 5 for 12 on man-up goals.

The Saints lead the nation in scoring offense (20.63 goals/game) and rank third in scoring defense (7.26 goals/game). UMO must defend against Limestone's top two scorers -- Kyle Rhatigan and Mike Messenger, who rank among the top 10 nationally in goal scoring and top 15 in assists.

They'll go up against All-American goalie Ross Bowman, who ranks eighth nationally in goals-against-average (8.23). The senior is 24th overall in save percentage (.531).

"We played 60 minutes of hard lacrosse, but we made some mental mistakes that cost us goals," Murphy said. "We fought hard for every ground ball, but didn't capitalize on all of our opportunities. Getting the ball during face-offs was difficult for us, so we had very limited possessions."

Generating offense from multiple sources is crucial which, says Murphy, should prevent Limestone from focusing on one player. Brett Kingston punched in a season-high six goals in the second meeting. Ryan Morris added a single goal.

However, the Saints consistently kept Matt Shields, Nico Shewey, Jacob Ball and Austin Whitlow from scratching on the scoresheet. Shields and Kingston have tallied 31 goals apiece this season.

UMO has collected 196 goals as a team.

"There's been an overall better effort (this season)," Kingston said. "We relied on certain parts of our game (in past years), but I think this year we really came together as a team -- offense, defense, goalie. We've put it all together better than other years in the past.

"We're equal on both ends of the field."

The Trojans are just the third Conference Carolinas team to appear in the D-II national tournament. Limestone has made 17 trips, while St. Andrews -- now a member of the NAIA Appalachian Athletic Conference -- went to the dance in 2002.