No. 10 Trojans Pull Away from MVNU in Home Opener

UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor took Wheeler Field for the first time in 2026 and improved to 6-3 all-time against Mount Vernon Nazarene with a 14-10 victory over the guests.

Taylor and MVNU (2-1) traded goals early, with each team finding the next twice in the opening four minutes, before the pace slowed and TU battled to a 6-5 lead at the break.

The third period belonged to the Purple and Gray, with goals from Jack Kaiser and Henry Cooper in the early moments opening a three-goal cushion for the first time in the contest. After killing off back-to-back penalties, Taylor got back on the attack and pushed the gap to 10-5 with scores from Cooper and AJ Harris midway through the period.

A strike from Jackson Dale to Will Saxby in the closing seconds of the frame made it an 11-6 lead entering the final 15 minutes, after the Trojans broke it open with a 5-1 scoring advantage in the third.

MVNU momentarily grabbed momentum with consecutive goals to start the fourth, but Taylor answered the bell and put the game away with the next three scores for a 14-8 lead. Dale had a hand in all three tallies, assisting Kaden Mast for a man-up strike to end the MVNU rally, before finding the net twice in a 54-second span from Harris.

The guests recorded two late goals to narrow the gap, but never seriously threatened the outcome in the 14-10 Taylor win.

Dale led the way with three goals, four assists, five ground balls and two caused turnovers, with Jude Wood and Henry Cooper each adding three scores. Harris finished with one goal and three helpers, with Kaiser adding the two scores.

Ben Harrell was stout in goal once again with 18 saves, matching his career-high and posting the third-best single-game total in program history.

In front of Harrell, Lucas Pacer grabbed seven ground balls and Grant Elzinga posted four ground balls and a trio of caused turnovers.

TU finished the game plus-13 in ground balls over MVNU and plus-11 in shot attempts, while taking better care of the ball with just 19 turnovers and only five failed clears in 33 attempts.

At 3-1 for a second-straight season and the third time in program history, No. 10 Taylor will look to continue its strong start when it plays at RV Saint Ambrose (1-1) in a 2:00 pm start on February 21.