Wingate, N.C.----University of Mount Olive junior attack Brett Kingston (Brooklin, Ontario) netted the game-winning goal with 0.9 seconds remaining in the contest to break the 8-8 tie and give the 15th ranked Trojans a 9-8 victory over Wingate University on Graham Gill Field at the Irwin Belk Track Complex. Kingston's game-winner was his only goal of the contest.

The last second victory improves UMO to 5-1 overall on the season, while the Wingate Bulldogs fall to 0-4 overall. Wingate's first four games have been against nationally-ranked opponents. Three of the four contests have been decided by one goal.

The Bulldogs began the game with three consecutive goals to take an early 3-0 lead with 4:20 remaining in the first quarter. The third goal was scored by freshman attack Kenan Reed (Winston Salem, N.C.), marking the first goal of his collegiate career.

Wingate led the entire first half and maintained a 5-3 advantage heading into the halftime break. The Bulldogs' fifth goal was scored by junior attack Austin Murphy (Orillia, Ontario), who tallied three goals to lead the WU offensive attack. Murphy has eight total goals this season to top the WU offensive charts.

The 'Dogs led by as many as three goals when they gained a 7-4 advantage with 4:50 remaining in the third quarter on Murphy's third goal of the contest. The UMO Trojans cut the lead down to one to make it a 7-6 score on back-to-back goals from sophomore attack Jacob Ball (Newtown, Conn.), who totaled three tallies in the contest to tie for the team goal-scoring lead.

Wingate followed with a goal from freshman attack Alex Llerandi (Marietta, Ga.) to give the Bulldogs an 8-6 lead with 4:15 left in the fourth quarter. The Trojans then quickly tied the game at 8-8 on consecutive tallies from senior midfielder Nico Shewey (Redmond, Wash.). The two Shewey goals were scored with 2:57 to play and 1:58 to play, respectively. The Trojans then shortly followed their game-tying goal with the game-winning tally with only 0.9 seconds left in the contest.

WU junior goalkeeper Jacob Ormerod (Lake Mary, Fla.) earned a season-high 17 saves on the afternoon. Mount Olive senior goalkeeper Ross Bowman (New Westminster, B.C.) tallied eight saves in the contest and picked up the win. Both goalies went the distance Wednesday.

The Wingate University men's lacrosse team will be back in action on the road this Saturday in its South Atlantic Conference opener against the Mars Hill University Lions at 5 p.m. The University of Mount Olive Trojans will be in action on Sunday, March 6 when they take on the Le Moyne College Dolphins in a neutral site match-up in Baltimore, Maryland. The first face-off is slated for 5 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.)