UMO's Urban cops top honor as D2 goalie

By UMO Media Relations
Published in Sports on June 8, 2018 5:51 AM

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UMO Media Relations

MOUNT OLIVE -- The University of Mount Olive men's lacrosse team had the highest number of student-athletes recognized on the Nike/USILA All-American list recently released.

Senior goalkeeper Will Urban earned first-team All-American honors and received the prestigious Ensign C. Markland Kelly Jr. Award, which is presented annually to the nation's most outstanding goalies at the D1, D2 and D3 levels.

Urban was named the Conference Carolinas Defensive Player-of-the-Year for helping his team tie for the regular-season championship and advance to the conference tournament semifinals. He started all 16 games between the pipes and made 157 stops for a .613 save percentage, and allowed 6.6 goals per game. Urban finished the year ranked second nationally in goals-against-average (GAA) and third in save percentage.

Joining Urban on the All-American list were midfielder Thatcher Clark and defenders Cole Groebner and Brady Elbin who each picked up third-team A-A accolades. Senior attack Jacob Ball was placed on the honorable mention list.

Clark played in 15 of 16 games, tallied 31 points (24 goals, 7 assists) and was one of four UMO midfielders named to the Conference Carolinas first team.

A two-time first-team all-Conference Carolinas pick, Groebner paced the Trojans' defensive backfield with 25 caused turnovers and 27 ground balls. He also netted one goal.

A sophomore specialist from Greensboro, Elbin played in all 16 games and scored six times with two assists on the offensive side. Defensively he forced 13 turnovers and collected 29 groundballs. The third-team All-American honor is the first of his career.

A senior attacker, Ball was named the Conference Carolinas Co-Offensive Player-of-the-Year and a first-team honoree. He led UMO this past season in goals (27), assists (18) and points (45). He also picked up 34 ground balls. He departs as the program's second all-time leading scorer with 89 goals.

"We are very fortunate to have five players be named to the USILA All-American teams," UMO head coach Mike Murphy said. "The hard work and dedication of all our players allowed these five players to garner national recognition. Will was named the Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr. as the most outstanding goalie in NCAA Division 2. It is the first time our program has been recognized at that level.

"I want to congratulate Will, Cole, Thatcher, Brady and Jake on earning these awards. I also want to thank Coach Dylan Price for the work he does instructing our goalies and continuing to put out one of the best defenses year in and year out. This is the fourth year in a row we have had an All-American goalie and Dylan is responsible for the continued success at that position.

"I wish Will, Cole and Jake all the best going forward and know Thatcher and Brady will be back in fall ready to work hard."

The Trojans had the nation's best scoring defense of 6.5 goals per game. They ended up third nationally with man defense that killed 82.5 percent of opposing team's man-up advantages, and ranked fifth nationally with 10.56 caused turnovers per game.

UMO concluded the year ranked No. 14 in the USILA Coaches Poll for Division II. The Trojans ended the season 11-5 overall and 5-1 against conference opposition. They claimed a share of the program's first-ever regular-season title.