MEN'S LACROSSE: Trojans come back to defeat Panthers

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on February 25, 2017 11:07 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- The University of Mount Olive had its backs thrusted against the wall Saturday afternoon.

Florida Tech -- which packed the Sunshine State's heat and humidity -- blasted flamethrower after flamethrower at the Trojans' defense. The Panther scored three goals in the first 51 seconds.

During the offensive hurricane, UMO head coach Mike Murphy preached patience. He wanted his players to slow the pace and limit mistakes.

The Trojans responded by whipping out their biggest fire extinguisher, and went on an 8-2 second-half run to steal a 13-11 victory from Florida Tech.

"It was slow going in the beginning and tough to get going," Murphy said. "At halftime I think we got a chance to regroup and talk to the guys. A couple of guys on the team stepped up, took charge and said 'Let's get this done,' and they did."

The Panthers pummeled the Trojans with quick bursts of offense in the first half. After the 51-second eruption, Florida Tech scored three goals in one minute and 45 seconds in the second period.

Florida Tech outscored UMO 5-2 in the second stanza, and held what appeared to be a commanding 9-5 lead by halftime.

"We wanted to make some adjustments on face-offs to counter what they were doing," said Murphy, regarding the halftime discussion. "Then defensively, we talked about making sure we're firing out early and sliding a little bit earlier than we normally do to compensate for how good their players were."

The two adjustments made by Murphy worked to perfection.

UMO won four of the five face-offs in the third quarter, and held Florida Tech to just one goal. The Panthers' lead was sliced to 10-8.

In the fourth quarter, UMO's Jacob Ball and Brett Kingston finished off the reeling Panthers with their own offensive fireworks.

With 8:53 left, Ball tied the game at 11-all off an assist by Cody Graden. Almost three minutes later, Graden found Kingston sprinting across the face of Florida Tech's goalkeeper -- 12-11, Trojans.

Ball and Kingston scored two goals apiece in the final period.

"(Ball and Kingston) have a lot of practice time together, so they kind of know where each other is going," Murphy said. "We lean on those guys to be leaders down there, and they responded well."

Eight different Trojans recorded at least one goal. Ball led UMO with four, while Austin Whitlow and Kingston each had two. Graden led the team with four assists, including three in the fourth quarter.

Murphy acknowledged that Saturday's game was the Trojans' first experience with adversity this season.

He believed the comeback revealed the true character of his team.

"You can't play from behind unless you believe in each other," Murphy said. "(It was) strong belief in each other and strong belief in the process."