Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University junior goalkeeper Jacob Ormerod (Lake Mary, Fla.) posted a career-high 22 saves as the Bulldogs overcome a five-goal first quarter deficit to defeat the 12th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte Royals 9-8 in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse action on Graham Gill Field at the Irwin Belk Track Complex Wednesday night. Wingate improves to 7-5 overall and 4-1 in the SAC. The Bulldogs have won four in a row and seven of eight. Queens is now 7-4 overall and 4-1 in the SAC.

"I am proud of our effort," Wingate head men's lacrosse coach Michael Lawson says. "Tonight was a total team effort. We knew we had to trap and fight…and we did. Our confidence continues to grow."

The Royals began the scoring very early as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead with 3:04 left in the first quarter. The first goal of the contest was netted by freshman attack Jesse Oliver (Markham, Ontario) only six seconds into the game. Queens senior midfielder Spencer Corkery (Winchester, Ontario) scored two of the Royals' first five tallies and finished first on the team scoring list with four goals in the contest.

Wingate would get on the board at 1:08 remaining in the first quarter on an unassisted score from junior midfielder Seth Grimwood (Huntingtown, Md.) to end the Royals' consecutive goal streak. Grimwood finished with two goals on the evening, tying for second on the WU scoring charts. Queens would answer on a score netted by freshman attack Garrett Sadler (Chittenango, N.Y.) at the first quarter buzzer to make it a 6-1 contest.

The Bulldogs would start on the comeback trail with three unanswered second quarter tallies, trimming the deficit to 6-4 with 3:55 to go in the second quarter. The first goal was netted by freshman attack Alex Llerandi (Marietta, Ga.) at the 12:45 mark in the second quarter. The Kell High School product led the Wingate offense with three goals in the contest. The Royals would maintain the 6-4 lead going into the halftime break.

The hosts cut the margin down to a one-goal deficit on another unassisted goal from Grimwood to make it a 6-5 game with 3:44 to play in the third quarter. Queens would extend its lead to 7-5 on Corkery's third tally of the evening with 1:33 remaining in the third quarter of play.

The Bulldogs responded on a score from freshman attack Ryan Ormerod (Lake Mary, Fla.) to cut the margin down to 7-6 with only 17 seconds left in the third. Ormerod's second goal of the contest and 17th of his freshman campaign would commence a run of four consecutive tallies to give Wingate a 9-7 advantage with 4:27 to go in the fourth quarter. The eighth and ninth scores were netted by Llerandi to complete the comeback for the 'Dogs.

Queens senior goalkeeper Eric Dolan (Hopkinton, Mass.) posted 13 saves on the evening and took the loss. He went the distance Saturday. Ormerod also played 60 minutes. "Sophomore defender Chris Gazzio (Hershey, Pa.) did a great job tonight," Lawson says. "He always receives the toughest assignment. Chris is doing a phenomenal defensive job for us."

The Wingate University men's lacrosse team will be back in action on Saturday when they face the Catawba College Indians for a home SAC contest. First face-off is slated for 3 p.m. The Queens University of Charlotte Royals will also be in action on Saturday as they take on SAC foe the Tusculum College Pioneers.

(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.)