YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – The Barton men's lacrosse team (9-7) upset top-seeded Belmont Abbey (12-4), 13-12, Friday afternoon in the semifinal round of the 2026 Conference Carolinas Championship.
The Bulldogs, the fourth seed in the tournament, moved on to the finals to face second-seeded Lees-McRae (11-5) on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The Bobcats defeated the No. 3 seed North Greenville (11-7), 16-12, in their semifinal contest.
Barton senior attacker
Nick Nelson (Wilmington, N.C.) and junior midfielder
Gabe Thompson (Endicott, N.Y.) both finished with a team-high four goals as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter and used a mini-run to start the final stanza to take the win.
The Bulldogs held advantages in both shots taken (49-35) and ground balls (32-25) and broke a nine-all tie to start the fourth period with four straight goals. Sophomore attacker
Logan McGrath (Stafford, Va.) was credited with the win.
Belmont Abbey's Brendan Boschi (Litchfield, N.H.) scored a match-high five goals, and the Crusaders scored the final three goals to pull within one, but the Bulldogs were able to hold on.
Barton graduate student goalkeeper
Luke Woollard (Kent, ENGLAND) earned the win after stopping eight shots while Eddie Kielkopf (St. Paul, Minn.) suffered the loss in goal for Belmont Abbey despite 16 saves.
