Men's Soccer | 11/3/2014 1:47:00 PM

Highlights from Sunday's LMU win
Photo Gallery from Sunday's LMU win
Printable SAC Tournament Bracket

Rock Hill, S.C.----The regular season SAC champion Wingate University Bulldogs will be the number one seed in this week's SAC Tournament, which gets started Tuesday night. The Bulldogs will host eighth-seeded Coker Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Wingate finished the regular season 11-3-1 overall and 8-2-1 in the SAC. The Cobras were 4-7-5 overall and 4-4-3 in the conference. Wingate will provide free HD video along with live stats.

Wingate clinched a regular season SAC title with Sunday's 3-0 victory against Lincoln Memorial. Sophomore Aksel Juul (Newcastle, England) scored twice in a four-minute span in the second half, while sophomore Charlie Machell (Newcastle, England) added his league-best 11th goal of the year to make the final margin 3-0. The Bulldogs have now won five regular season SAC titles. This is Wingate's first regular season SAC championship since 2010.

The Bulldogs enter postseason play having won nine of their last 11 matches, going 9-1-1 during the span while outscoring opponents 25-7. The lone tie during the stretch came against Coker in early October, a game that ended in a 0-0 draw. The Bulldogs outshot the Cobras 20-9 on the match, holding an 8-5 edge in shots on goal. Wingate had several opportunities throughout the night, with the best chance coming in the first overtime when the 'Dogs were awarded a penalty kick. Machell's shot was saved and the game would end in a scoreless draw.

Wingate's last SAC Tournament title came during the 2002 season. The Bulldogs have not advanced to the SAC Tournament semifinals since the 2010 season, the last time Wingate was the number one seed. The Bulldogs are looking for their second NCAA Tournament bid in the past three seasons. Wingate is currently ranked fifth in the NCAA Southeast Region rankings. The top six teams earn a bid. The Bulldogs are the only SAC team ranked in the top eight. Wingate has been ranked in the NSCAA Division II top 25 poll each of the past three seasons. The Bulldogs were ranked eighth after winning the regional title in 2012, then climbed as high as fifth in 2013. Wingate was ranked for three weeks this year, ranking as high as number 18.

Wingate's strong finish to the season included a 10-match unbeaten streak, which started with a 4-0 win at Catawba, getting a goal and an assist from David Fairgrieve (Newcastle, England). A hat trick from junior Shaun Gadsby (Newcastle, England) led the 'Dogs to a 3-1 win over Tusculum. Machell netted the overtime game-winner in Wingate's 2-1 win over a Carson-Newman team that played in the national title game in 2013. The Bulldogs handed sixth-ranked Limestone its only loss of the season, winning 1-0 while handing the Saints their only shutout since 2012.

Juul had a goal and an assist in the 2-1 win at Brevard, then scored again in the 2-1 overtime victory against Newberry. Machell notched his second hat trick of the season at Queens, while freshman Damian Goana (Santiago, Chile) contributed three assists in the 4-0 road win.

Machell leads Wingate and the SAC with 11 goals this year, adding three assists to lead the conference with 25 points. Gadsby has five goals, four assists and 14 points, ranking in the top 13 in the SAC in all three categories.

The Bulldogs rank second in the conference in goals per game, while leading the league by allowing just 0.91 goals per contest. Wingate has allowed a league-low 10 goals in 11 SAC matches. The Bulldogs scored 24 goals in league play, ranking second in the conference. Wingate has registered seven shutouts this season.

The winner of Tuesday night's Wingate-Coker match will face the winner of the Lenoir-Rhyne vs. Anderson match. That contest will take place Friday night at 7 p.m. at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill, S.C. The championship game is Sunday at 4 p.m. in Rock Hill.

Tuesday, Nov. 4 (at Highest Seeds)
Game 1: #4 Lenoir-Rhyne vs. #5 Anderson, 7:30 p.m.
Game 2: #1 Wingate vs. #8 Coker, 7:30 p.m.
Game 3: #2 Mars Hill vs. #7 Lincoln Memorial, 7:30 p.m.
Game 4: #3 Carson-Newman vs. #6 Tusculum, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 7 (Manchester Meadows, Rock Hill, S.C.)
Game 5: winner game 1 vs. winner game 2, 7 p.m. (on field 2)
Game 6: winner game 3 vs. winner game 4, 7 p.m. (on field 1)

Sunday, Nov. 9 (Manchester Meadows, Rock Hill, S.C.)
Game 7: winner game 5 vs. winner game 6, 4 p.m. (on field 2)