Mount Olive battles in loss to Embry-Riddle, 20-14

5/8/2025 4:57:00 PM

By: Alex King

LAKELAND, Fla. (May 8) – In its second appearance on the national stage, the No. 6 seeded University of Mount Olive women's lacrosse program battled in a 20-14 loss to No. 3 Embry-Riddle in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
 
Final Score: Embry-Riddle 20, Mount Olive 14

Records: Embry-Riddle (17-4), Mount Olive (11-8)

Location: Lakeland, Fla. (neutral site), Berend Field, Campus of Florida Southern College

TROJAN PERFORMANCES:
  • Senior Lena DeFilippo led the Trojan offense with a hat trick and added three ground balls.
  • Fifth-year Logan Hibbard delivered a three-point performance behind one goal and two assists while tallying three caused turnovers and six draw controls.
  • Junior Alexa Fitzgerald, junior Maddy Fratus, and freshman Reese Weddle each netted a pair of goals against the Eagles while sophomore Kayanna Bowden registered a two-point performance (one goal, one assist).
  • Redshirt sophomore Katie Broom finished with one goal, one assist, three draw controls, and one ground ball. Senior Rileigh White totaled one goal and one assist in her final game with the Trojans.
  • Defensively, junior Giavahna Gasdia produced three caused turnovers, one draw control, and one ground ball. Fellow junior Madison Dow recorded two caused turnovers and two ground balls.
  • The Trojans featured three goalkeepers in the contest, as freshman Lily Mahoney led the team with three strop in 22-plus minutes.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
  • The Trojans delivered a strong defensive stand in the opening minutes of the contest forcing a pair of turnovers. The Eagles managed to break through at the 11:53 mark before netting two additional goals to build a 3-0 lead.
  • Mount Olive got on the board at the 4:40 mark of the first quarter with goal by Hibbard before DeFilippo netted a goal off an assist from Hibbard to cut the deficit to 3-2. Embry-Riddle scored in the final 39 seconds of the quarter to hold a 4-2 advantage.
  • In the second quarter, the Eagles quickly extend their lead to 8-2 before Mount Olive held the run with a goal by Fratus, 8-3. Embry-Riddle responded by tallying three unanswered goals, but Fitzgerald scored in the final minute of the second to trail 11-4 at the break.
  • DeFilippo registered the first goal of the third quarter at the 12:25 mark before the Eagles countered with a goal just 18 seconds later, 12-5. The Trojan offense found its rhythm in the final eight minutes of the quarter after scoring four unanswered goals, as Fitzgerald, Fratus, White, and Weddle rattled the back of the cage, 12-9.
  • Embry-Riddle managed to tally two of the final three goals to head into the fourth with a 14-10 edge.
  • In the fourth quarter, the Eagles netted a pair of goals to begin the final 15 minutes, but UMO answered with three consecutive goals. Freshman Lyndzy Palensky scored at the 11:09 mark on a man-up opportunity before Bowden and Broom delivered goals to close the gap to 16-13.
  • Embry-Riddle pulled away late recording four of the final five goals to advance to the next round with a 20-14 win.