Box Score

Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University junior midfielder Luke Mulholland (Preston, England) scored two goals as the Bulldogs rallied from an early deficit to defeat Newberry College 3-1 in the opening round of the 2009 Food Lion SAC Tournament Tuesday night. The Bulldogs improve to 12-3-1 overall and advance to the SAC Tournament semifinals, where they will take on Mars Hill College Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Manchester Meadows Soccer Complex in Rock Hill, S.C. Newberry ends its season at 3-14-1 overall.

The scarlet-and-gray got on the board first when sophomore forward Tornubari Nyonebue (Rivers State, Nigeria) headed in a corner from freshman midfielder Francisco Espinoza (Brenham, Texas) 18:33 into the first half. It is the third goal of the year for Nyonebue.

Wingate had the answer 10 minutes later, when Mulholland was able to take a loose ball fumbled by the Newberry goalkeeper and fire it into the far corner to tie the game at one.

The Bulldogs took the lead at the 37:19 mark, when sophomore midfielder Paul Gallagher (Strabane, Northern Ireland) found Mulholland on the right side of the box. Mulholland netted his league-best 15th goal of the year to make it 2-1. The 2008 All-American has scored five goals against Newberry in the two meetings this year.

Senior forward Junior Nyemb (Douala, Cameroon) added some insurance when he drilled a shot from just inside the box into the far corner with 26 minutes remaining in the match. It is the ninth goal of the year for Nyemb.

Wingate out-shot Newberry 18-14 on the match, while holding a 12-4 advantage in shots on goal. Junior goalkeeper Joey Calandra (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) collected three saves for the Bulldogs. Freshman goalkeeper Joel Johnson (Sangre Grande, Trinidad & Tobago) racked up nine saves for the scarlet-and-gray.

The Bulldogs will battle the Lions of Mars Hill Friday at 3 p.m. Wingate’s lone tie of the season came against the Lions at Mars Hill on October 23. The Bulldogs defeated Lenoir-Rhyne 3-2 in overtime in last year’s SAC semifinals to advance the championship match.