MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. — The Catawba College men's lacrosse team begins its 2026 campaign on Saturday afternoon with an in-state trip to Mount Olive, facing the Trojans at the Ray McDonald, Sr. Sports Complex.

First of the Year
- Both Catawba and Mount Olive are kicking off their seasons in the matchup while other programs in the area opted to get started last weekend
- The Catawba Indians have confronted outside competition on the past two Fridays, visiting Division III Pfeiffer on Jan. 23 and hosting Lander on Jan. 30 for scrimmages
- Traveling for the season opener is familiar territory for the blue and white who have been on the road for the last two lidlifters, defeating North Greenville in 2024 (16-11) and Chowan in 2025 (20-6)
- Catawba is 13-19 in season openers all-time with a 4-8 ledger away from home; in the last eight games held outside of Salisbury, the squad has an even 4-4 clip

Returners Galore
- Catawba brings a whopping 78% of its scoring volume, 83% of its caused turnovers, the starting faceoff specialist and the entire goaltending corps back from a 2025 roster that produced the program's first winning season since 2019
- USILA Team of the Week selections Peyton Turner (Feb. 19) and Owen Conway (Apr. 17) are back in the fold
- Junior attackman Tanner Stout racked up team highs of 37 goals and 46 points last season, while Turner dished out 23 assists to move into a tie for 11th all-time with 49 career assists
- As freshmen, Conway and Cael Petroff started every game and brought an immediate spark; Conway led the way with 25 caused turnovers, while Petroff bagged 84 ground balls with a .511 faceoff percentage

Back to the Stomping Ground
- To open their fourth years at Catawba, head coach Mike Murphy and assistant coach Will Urban return to a campus that both are well-acquainted with
- Murphy, a 1998 alumnus of Catawba, was the first leader of the Mount Olive men's lacrosse program and spent a decade at the helm from 2013-22
- Urban competed for the Trojans under Murphy's leadership, capturing two All-America honors and winning the 2018 Ensign C. Markland Kelly Jr. Award, given to the nation's top goalie in each NCAA division

All-Time Series
- Mount Olive leads the series 11-2 with Catawba's victories coming in their first and last meetings
- In six tries, Catawba is winless in Pickle Town
- Mike Murphy has been on the sidelines for every meeting, going 10-3 with a 5-1 record at on UMO's home turf

Scouting the Trojans
- UMO held a 7-7 overall record with a 5-2 Conference Carolinas resume in 2025, bowing out of the league playoffs in the semifinal round
- The Trojans will be looking to fill the gaps left by graduates Third Team All-American Alan Usher and All-Region honoree Josh Mauer
- The CC preseason coaches' poll placed UMO in third out of nine teams, but just eight points off leader North Greenville and seven behind Belmont Abbey
- Benjamin Vanderkley (44 points) and Brayden Rieger (40 points) return after pacing the Trojans in goals and assists, respectively, last year
- Kurtis Lensing retains goaltending duties as he started all 14 games in 2025, posting a .551 save percentage and a 9.64 goals-against average

Follow Along
- The matchup will be streamed live on the Conference Carolinas Digital Network
- Live stats will be available on umotrojans.com