BOX SCORE

Wingate, N.C.----Junior attack Derek Watts’ fourth goal broke a 7-7 tie with 4:57 remaining as the Wingate University men’s lacrosse team picked up their first 2012 victory with a 10-7 triumph over Belmont Abbey College Wednesday afternoon at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field. Wingate improves to 1-1 overall, while Belmont Abbey drops to 1-1 overall.
 
Sophomore attack Taylor Womble’s first goal of the season gave Wingate a 7-6 lead with 10:12 to play. Watts found Womble in front of the net and he beat Crusader goalkeeper Merrick Reiland. Belmont Abbey evened the slate with 7:47 left on midfielder Scotty Steele’s second goal of the afternoon.
 
With 5:34 to play, Crusader defender Brendan Shoults was called for slashing. The Bulldogs converted on the man-advantage opportunity to take the lead for good. Sophomore midfielder Troy Press added his second goal of the game 56 seconds later and senior David Lee scored his fifth goal of the year with 2:17 remaining. Press had two goals, while senior attack Bryan Bayliss and junior midfielder Jackson Bunn also scored for the Bulldogs.
 
Belmont Abbey was led by Steele and junior midfielder Dan Morrissey with two goals each. Junior attack Tanner Scharr, freshman midfielder Joey McGinley and junior midfielder Josiah Nash were the Crusaders’ other goal scorers. The Crusaders had 33 shots, one more than Wingate.
 
The Crusaders were one-for-six on extra-man opportunities, while Wingate was one-for-three. Senior goalkeeper Danny Dlugozima had 18 saves for the Bulldogs, while Reiland had 12 saves for Belmont Abbey.
 
Wingate will host 2011 national champion and pre-season number one Mercyhurst College at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Belmont Abbey will travel to Savannah, Ga. to face the University of Tampa at 1 p.m. Sunday.  
 
(Wingate University senior Steven Grandy contributed this article. A Sport Management major from Raleigh, N.C., Grandy won the District III Athlete Profile portion of the CoSIDA Fred Stabley, Sr. Writing Contest in 2010.)