Wingate, N.C.----The number 10 Florida Southern College men's lacrosse team built an 8-1 lead and survived a huge Wingate University rally en route to a 15-12 NCAA Division II victory over the Bulldogs at the Irwin Belk Track Complex turf field Sunday afternoon. The FSC Moccasins are 1-2 overall, while Wingate is 0-1 overall.
 
For Florida Southern, midfield Lucas Claude (Calgary, Alberta) led all scorers with six goals. Sophomore attacks Cody Dyer (Slingerlands, N.Y.) and Grant VanOverbeke (Rosemount, Minn.) had three goals each. FSC senior attack Dane Sorensen (Victoria, B.C.) had one goal and two assists.
 
For Wingate, sophomore attack Tanner Kotch (Butler, Pa.) and freshman attack Jeremy Sullivan (Crofton, Md.) had three goals each. Kotch dished out one assist. Bulldog senior midfield Cory Schumacher (Gainesville, Va.) posted two goals and one assist, while sophomore attack Austin Murphy (Orillia, Ontario) had one goal and a game-high three assists.
 
"We dug ourselves a hole on both sides of the ball," Wingate head men's lacrosse coach Michael Lawson says. "We must come out ready to play from the opening whistle. I am proud of our fight…we made plays to get back into the game. The coaching staff saw bright spots today…we will make adjustments and get ready for a tough road game at Mount Olive Wednesday."
 
Claude and Dyer had two goals each in the opening 8-1 flurry. Dyer finished the outburst with a man-down goal with 11:26 to play in the second quarter. Wingate rallied, scoring three man-up goals to cut the deficit to 8-4 at the 6:53 mark. Schumacher started the push and Sullivan finished, recording his first two collegiate goals on assists from Murphy and Schumacher, respectively.
 
The Mocs led 9-6 at intermission and nudged their lead to 10-6 on Claude's third goal of the game 41 seconds into the third quarter on an assist from Sorensen. Wingate answered with a 4-1 push with one goal each from Murphy and junior attack Ryan Vogrig (Vancouver, B.C.) and two tallies from Kotch.
 
Kotch's unassisted goal made the score 11-10 Florida Southern with 12:01 remaining in the fourth quarter. The two teams traded goals for the next five minutes, but Wingate could not tie the score. Sullivan cut the deficit to 13-12 on man-up goal (thanks to a Murphy helper) with 7:35 to play. Claude and VanOverbeke scored goals in the last two minutes to give the visitors a cushion.
 
The Sunshine State Conference members outshot their South Atlantic Conference hosts 43-33 with a 24-16 margin in the first half. Florida Southern also held the advantage in ground balls (45-36) and face-offs (18 victories in 29 tries. The WU Bulldogs converted four extra-man opportunities in 10 tries, while the FSC Mocs scored three EMO goals in six attempts.
 
FSC sophomore goalie Matt Lalli (New Milford, Conn.) earned his first victory of the season. He played 60 minutes, allowing 12 goals and posting 10 saves. Wingate sophomore goalie Jacob Ormerod (Lake Mary, Fla.) played 58-plus minutes, surrendered 14 goals and recording 14 saves. Sophomore goalie Michael Connor (Stockport, England) played the final 1:54, giving up one goal and posting one save.
 
Wingate will play its next two games on the road. The Bulldogs visit Mount Olive Wednesday (4 p.m.) and SAC men's lacrosse newcomer Lincoln Memorial Saturday (3 p.m.). Wingate hosts Chestnut Hill (Pa.) Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. Florida Southern is off until Saturday, Feb. 28, when the Mocs visit number one Limestone for a 1 p.m. contest.