COLLEGE LACROSSE: Kingston notches 5 goals, UMO rolls over Coker

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 23, 2017 9:57 AM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Coker's deliberate pace worked early.

The Cobras moved the ball around, tried to find open seams in the University of Mount Olive defense and crank out shots on goal.

That all changed 111/2 minutes later.

Brett Kingston notched the first of his game-high five goals on an assist from Cody Graden, and the No. 11-ranked Trojans thrashed former conference rival Coker (SC) College, 19-5, on Wednesday afternoon.

"Our mental game, we don't realize we're in an actual game (and) we've got to get ready to get going," Kingston said. "The first two games, we've come out a little sluggish. I don't know if we're preparing enough or what. We ended up finding our game towards the end there."

Coker's methodical pace coerced UMO into early turnovers, which led to ground balls and scoring opportunities. Trojan goalie Will Urban notched four saves within the first five minutes, and finished with 12 total stops between the pipes.

Two other Cobra shots clanged off the posts.

"The guys, I don't want to say they were nervous, but they were kind of amped up and ready to go, and didn't want to settle into our game until maybe the second quarter," Trojans head coach Mike Murphy said.

Up 2-0, UMO took command.

Coker pinched the middle to clog the passing lanes in the opening period. The Trojans (2-0 overall) stretched the defense and created space in the second period, which led to goals by Kingston and five other teammates -- Graden, Austin Holgate, Tim Collins, Adam Lenhard and Jacob Ball.

The Trojans led 8-1 at the break.

"We got so anxious on offense, we didn't make them move," Murphy said. "We didn't create the space, they were doing a good job of staying home. When we started moving around and flying, the space started opening up.

"The guys started working harder off ball. We started to find our rhythm (and) then dictated the pace of the game."

UMO collected 11 second-half goals. Kingston completed his five-goal outing on Ball's assist with 2:05 left in the game. Ball provided a hat trick, while Graden, Collins and Nick Petersen punched in two goals apiece.

Kingston, Ball and Graden each filed two assists.

"My goal is to try to get open in the middle, look for them to feed," said Kingston, who has 79 career goals. "They know I'm there. People were finding me. I just try to find those little gaps and I try to fire it in."

The Trojans, ranked No. 10 in the latest USILA/Nike Division II national poll, entertain Florida Tech on Saturday. Face-off is at noon.