Barton and North Greenville to Battle for Conference Carolinas Men’s Lacrosse Championship on Saturday

4/27/2023 9:28:00 PM

MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – Second-seeded North Greenville and fourth-seeded Barton both advanced to the Conference Carolinas Men’s Lacrosse Championship final for the first time with thrilling semifinal victories on Thursday, April 27, at the Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex on the University of Mount Olive campus.

The 2023 Conference Carolinas Men’s Lacrosse Championship final between North Greenville and Barton is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 29.

Barton secured the upset win over top-seeded Belmont Abbey with a strong first half. In fact, the first half was the difference with Barton leading 6-3 at the halftime break. The two teams both scored four goals in the second half, but the three-goal lead at intermission eventually propelled Barton to the win and its first-ever appearance in the Conference Carolinas Men’s Lacrosse Championship final.

Matt Calleri led all in the game with three goals for Barton. He also had a ground ball. Mark Crawford and B.J. Wilson also had two goals for Barton in its win. Logan Wheeler had two assists and a goal for Barton. Conference Carolinas Offensive Player of the Year Davis McCulley of Belmont Abbey led the Crusaders with two goals and an assist.

Barton finished its semifinal win with a 43-27 advantage in shots. Both teams collected 20 ground balls in the game, but Barton forced Belmont Abbey into 18 turnovers. Barton had 10 turnovers in the game. Alexander Stewart of Barton had 10 saves in goal and gave up just the seven goals. Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year Thomas Sullivan had 12 saves in net for Belmont Abbey in its loss.

North Greenville advanced to its first final appearance after a thrilling 17-15 semifinal victory over third-seeded Mount Olive. The Trojans had held the lead for the entire game before North Greenville took its first lead of the game at 15-14 on a Thomas Cecere goal with 5:35 left in the game. Aidan Lalonde of Mount Olive evened things up at 15-15 just under three minutes later, but North Greenville scored the final two goals to secure the historic win. Alex Brooks scored with 1:21 remaining to give North Greenville the lead for good at 16-15. Anthony Pecoraro scored the final goal for North Greenville to seal the win with 31 seconds to play.

Cecere (six) and Brooks (five) combined to score 11 of North Greenville’s 17 goals in the contest. Chapman Parker led Mount Olive in the game with five goals and two assists. North Greenville held a 50-40 shot advantage in the game. North Greenville forced Mount Olive into 19 turnovers, while committing 13.

Fans can watch every game of the tournament live via the Conference Carolinas Digital Network and Hudl at conferencecarolinasdn.com. Information regarding the championship schedule, bracket and the Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex are available here.