Women's Soccer | 11/3/2014 2:25:00 PM

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

Rock Hill, S.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs are the number two seed in this week's South Atlantic Conference women's soccer tournament. Wingate will host the opening round match Tuesday night, welcoming Queens to town at 5 p.m. The Bulldogs finished the regular season 10-2-3 overall and 9-1-1 in the SAC. The Royals went 8-8-2 overall and 5-4-2 in the conference. Wingate will provide free HD video along with live stats.

Wingate enters postseason play riding a 10-match unbeaten streak, going 9-0-1 during the span while outscoring opponents 36-1. The Bulldogs have poured in 34 goals since they last allowed a goal. Wingate has nine consecutive shutouts, going over 880 minutes without allowing a goal.

The Bulldogs look to continue their recent postseason success. Wingate has played in each of the last four SAC Tournament championship matches. The Bulldogs won their first-ever SAC Tournament championship in 2011, earning the first NCAA Tournament bid. After losing in the championship match in 2012, the 'Dogs received their first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Wingate would then go on to win the 2013 SAC Tournament title, earning the number one seed in the NCAA Southeast regionals. Wingate hosted the first two games in the regionals, then after advancing would go on to host the NCAA Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. The Bulldogs won their first-ever regional title in 2013, advancing to the first NCAA Elite Eight in program history.

Wingate's unbeaten streak started Sept. 24 with a 4-1 win at then-number-10 Catawba. Freshman Samantha Leonard (Conowingo, Md.) had two goals and an assist. That was the last goal Wingate allowed. All-American Jade Montgomery (Monroe, N.C.) scored the lone goal in the 1-0 win against Tusculum, while sophomore Brooke Howell (Charlotte, N.C.) scored twice in the 7-0 win against Mount Olive. She also had two goals against Mars Hill in the 4-0 victory.

Montgomery notched her sixth career hat trick in the 5-0 victory against Coker. She followed with two goals and an assist in the 6-0 win at Brevard, earning National Player of the Week honors from the NSCAA. Wingate and Newberry played to a 0-0 draw, despite the Bulldogs outshooting the Wolves 24-7 on the night.

Montgomery and Howell each scored a goal in the 2-0 win at Queens. Montgomery scored twice in the 4-0 victory at Anderson, while Howell added a goal and an assist. Montgomery scored two more goals in Sunday's 3-0 win against Lincoln Memorial.

Montgomery leads Wingate and the SAC with 15 goals and 35 points. The two-time SAC Female Athlete of the Year has led the conference in goals and points in each of the past three seasons. She has 66 career goals and 156 points, ranking fourth on the league's all-time list in both categories. Howell is second in the SAC with 13 goals, adding four assists to rank third in the league with 30 points. Sophomore midfielder Naomi Matley (Clover, S.C.) is second in the conference with six assists, while Leonard ranks ninth in the SAC with six goals and ninth with 14 points. Senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Hardie (Summerfield, N.C.) is second in the SAC with a 0.56 goals-against average. She ranks third in SAC history with a goals-against average of .702.

Wingate has piled up a league-best 44 goals this year, averaging a conference-best 2.9 goals per game. The Bulldogs have also scored a SAC-high 31 goals in conference games. Wingate has allowed only 10 goals all year, leading the league with a 0.63 goals-against average. The 'Dogs allowed just three goals in conference play, which also led the league. The Bulldogs have registered 10 shutouts this year.

The winner of Tuesday night's game will face the winner of the Newberry-Tusculum match. That contest will take place Friday at 4 p.m. at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill, S.C. The championship game is Sunday at 1 p.m. in Rock Hill.

Tuesday, Nov. 4 (at Highest Seeds)
Game 1: #4 Lincoln Memorial vs. #5 Catawba, 2 p.m.
Game 2: #1 Lenoir-Rhyne vs. #8 Anderson, 5 p.m.
Game 3: #2 Wingate vs. #7 Queens, 5 p.m.
Game 4: #3 Newberry vs. #6 Tusculum, 1:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 7 (Manchester Meadows, Rock Hill, S.C.)
Game 5: winner game 1 vs. winner game 2, 4 p.m. (on field 2)
Game 6: winner game 3 vs. winner game 4, 4 p.m. (on field 1)
Sunday, Nov. 9 (Manchester Meadows, Rock Hill, S.C.)
Game 7: winner game 5 vs. winner game 6, 1 p.m. (on field 2)