MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – The Barton men's lacrosse team (10-7) advanced to the title game of the 2023 Conference Carolinas Championship with a 10-7 upset victory over Belmont Abbey (10-4) Thursday afternoon at the Ray McDonald, Sr., Sports Complex on the campus of the University of Mount Olive.
The Bulldogs are the fourth seed in the tournament while the Crusaders came into the championship as the top seed.
Barton senior attacker
Matt Calleri (Holly Springs, N.C.) finished with a match-high three goals while graduate attacker and midfielder
Mark Crawford (Chesapeake Beach, Md.) and senior midfielder
B.J. Wilson (Tampa, Fla.) both scored twice as the Bulldogs advanced to the league title championship for the first time in school history.
Barton will take on second-seeded North Greenville (10-6) in the championship game on Saturday afternoon beginning at 1:00 p.m. The Crusaders defeated the host school, Mount Olive (7-8) by a 17-15 in the second semifinal.
Davis McCulley (Victoria, British Columbia, CANADA) and Matthew Wyatt (Lutz, Fla.) both scored twice for Belmont Abbey, who saw its seven-game losing streak come to an end.
Calleri broke a three-all tie with the game-winner at the 3:01 mark of the second period – the first of three straight goals for the Bulldogs – and Barton kept its advantage at two scores the rest of the way. Barton held a 43-27 advantage in shots taken while freshman
Alexander Stewart (Harford County, Md.) earned the victory after goal after stopping 10 shots on the day.
Belmont Abbey's Thomas Sullivan (North Babylon, N.Y.) suffered the loss in goal despite 12 saves in the contest.
