Wingate, N.C--- Wingate University junior midfielder Brittany Andrews (Bel Air, Md.) led the Bulldogs scoring attack with five goals as Wingate outscored the Belmont Abbey College Crusaders 11-3 in the second half on the way to a 13-9 victory on Graham Gill Field at the Irwin Belk Track Complex Wednesday. The 'Dogs earn their first win of the season as they improve to 1-1 overall. The Crusaders fall to 0-1 overall in their season opener.
 
"We are so proud of our team's overall effort today," Wingate head women's lacrosse coach Caline McHenry Olmsted says. "We did a great job of battling back in the second half and executing our game plan."
 
Wingate junior midfielder Paulena Dempsey (Jarrettsville, Md.) finished second in goal scoring with three tallies. Senior midfielder Emily Nosek (Bel Air, Md.) netted two total goals as well with a Bulldog-leading five assists. Dempsey finished behind Nosek with two assists. Belmont Abbey sophomore attack Rebecca Luca (Massapequa, N.Y.) led the Crusader scoring with four total goals. Junior midfielder Erin Kunkel (Zionsville, Ind.) earned two goals along with two assists.
 
The Abbey struck first in the early minutes of the game with back-to-back goals to give the Crusaders a 2-0 advantage with 18:39 left in the first half. The Bulldogs then cut the lead in half at 2-1 on a goal from Andrews with 15:40 to go. The Abbey led by a score of 3-2 until a goal by sophomore midfielder Rebecca Stromberg (Cincinnati, Ohio) began a run of three consecutive goals to give the Crusaders a 6-2 lead at halftime.
 
Wingate quickly erased their halftime deficit beginning with a goal by Nosek with 29:03 in the second half. The goal by Nosek commenced a run of four consecutive goals for the Bulldogs to tie the game up at 6-6. The Crusaders briefly regained the lead 7-6 with 21:55 in the second half. The 'Dogs then tied the score at 7-7 on another goal by Nosek. WU redshirt sophomore attack Shannon O'Neal (Severna Park, Md.) posted the game-winner at the 15-12 mark and the 'Dogs never looked back from this point forward. Wingate scored five consecutive goals as they led by a score of 11-7 with 7:30 remaining in the contest.
 
Wingate sophomore attack Jaclyn Chiesa (Canton, Ga.) scored her first goal of the season with 4:14 remaining as the Bulldogs added on to their lead 12-8. Bulldog junior midfielder Laura Swanson (Plantation, Fla.) netted her first goal of the 2016 campaign with 2:46 left in the game to give Wingate a 13-9 advantage and seal the win.
 
Freshman goalie Arion Pierre (Haymarket, Va.) recorded seven saves on the night to even up her record at 1-1. The reigning South Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Week followed up a 13-save performance against the University of Mount Olive on Sunday afternoon. Belmont Abbey junior goalie Reilly Johnson (Chapel Hill, N.C.) had four saves and took the loss as her record falls to 0-1 overall.
 
The Wingate University women's lacrosse team will be back in action on Saturday at 2 p.m. as they travel to Murfreesboro, N.C. to take on the Chowan University Hawks. The Belmont Abbey College Crusaders are also in action on Saturday as they play in their home opener against the University of Tampa Spartans at 3:30 p.m.
 
(Wingate University sports information/sports network student assistant Jackson Kaplan contributed this article. A freshman from Raleigh, Kaplan is a Communication Studies major at Wingate. The former Millbrook High School baseball player is the son of Harrison and Dona Kaplan.)