Men's Lacrosse | 3/10/2017 7:49:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs conclude their four-game home stand when they host the 14th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears in a crucial South Atlantic Conference encounter from Graham Gill Field at the Irwin Belk Track Complex Saturday afternoon. The Bears are coming off a very successful 2016 campaign, finishing as the defending SAC regular season and tournament champions.
 
Wingate enters the league match-up at 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the SAC. Lenoir-Rhyne is also 4-1 overall and 2-0 in league play. Wingate looks to extend its current two-game win streak, while LRU has been victorious in four consecutive contests since falling to second-ranked Limestone College in the season opener.
 
"LRU is a very strong program which is well-coached," Wingate head men's lacrosse coach Tim Boyle says. "It is going to take four, full and clean quarters from us to have success. They are fast and talented all over the field."
 
Wingate senior attack Austin Murphy (Orillia, Ontario) is off to a hot start in his final season, leading the Bulldogs with 12 goals and 10 assists on 29 total shots. Murphy led the WU scoring efforts with three goals in the SAC opener versus Mars Hill (March 4) and tallied two scores in the victory over number 12 Lynn this past Tuesday.
 
WU sophomore attack Alex Llerandi (Marietta, Ga.) is second on the Bulldog scoring charts with seven total tallies and four assists. Sophomore midfielders Conor Gronbach (Cary, N.C.) and Daniel Godwin (Greensboro, N.C.) tie for third place on the team scoring list with six goals each. Junior attack Jeremy Sullivan (Crofton, Md.) adds five scores for the 'Dogs.
 
Bulldog junior goalkeeper Will Sheridan (Woodstock, Ga.) has posted double-digit saves in each of his five starts in the cage with his best performance coming against Florida Southern (Feb. 24) when he tallied 22 total stops. Sheridan ranks first in the SAC individual standings with a 66.7 save percentage and 7.00 goals-against average. Sheridan has totaled 70 saves on the season.
 
For Lenoir-Rhyne, the Bears are led by freshman midfielder Eric Dickinson (Charlotte, N.C.). The newcomer leads his team and ranks first in the SAC with 20 total goals in his first collegiate campaign. Dickinson averages four goals per game and has compiled nine total assists. He had two six-goal performances versus Wheeling Jesuit and Brevard.
 
LRU senior attack Mike Hanlon (Haymarket, Va.) leads the SAC with 16 assists on the season. In addition, he has posted 13 total goals to rank second on the Bear scoring charts. His best performance came against the Coker Cobras, when he posted seven tallies to lead the Bears to a convincing 21-7 victory. Fellow senior attack Will Remsen (Baldwin, N.Y.) has tallied seven goals, while junior midfielder Ben Corrigan (Alpharetta, Ga.) has contributed eight scores and six assists in five starts.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne also possesses a talented goalie duo of juniors Ryan Crompton (Frederick, Md.) and Damon Cummins (Lancaster, Pa.). Crompton has compiled 36 total saves, while Cummins has tallied 30 stops. Crompton has started five of five games in the cage for LRU and has played for a total of 182:32. Cummins has participated in four of the first five games and has totaled 113:55 at the goalkeeper position. Cummins is fourth in the SAC with a 52.6 save percentage.
 
Wingate is coming off back-to-back quality victories over SAC foe Mars Hill and 12th-ranked, previously undefeated Lynn University. The Bulldogs used a huge 7-0 run to overcome a 6-5 deficit late in the fourth quarter versus the MHU Lions to boost the hosts to Boyle's first SAC victory as head coach.
 
Murphy led the 'Dogs with three goals, while Sullivan and sophomore midfielder Wyatt Weiseman (Jensen Beach, Fla.) tallied two scores each. Senior long-stick midfielder Tyler Antram (Whitby, Ontario) scored the game-winning goal early in the fourth quarter (14:56) to make it 7-6 Bulldogs.
 
The Bulldogs snapped the Lynn Fighting Knights' three-game win streak with an 11-6 non-conference triumph in a dominant defensive effort from Graham Gill Field. Murphy tallied a game-high six points (two goals, four assists) to lead Wingate. The 'Dogs never trailed in the contest, jumping out to the early 3-0 advantage. The hosts led by as many as 10-4 in the contest. Godwin led the 'Dogs with three goals.
 
Since Lenoir-Rhyne fell to the 2016 National Championship runner-up Limestone Saints 19-8, the Bears have averaged 19 scores per game and have tallied 20-plus goals in three consecutive contests. LRU totaled 21 goals each against Wheeling Jesuit and Coker, while posting 20 tallies versus Brevard. In addition, the Bear defense has allowed a combined 13 goals in their previous two victories.
 
LRU's most impressive win was against the Coker College Cobras when the visiting Bears began the game on a 12-2 run. Coker answered with five straight tallies to make it 12-7, but Lenoir-Rhyne commenced a scorching 9-0 run in route to the dominant 14-goal victory. The Bears defeated the Brevard Tornados by a final score of 20-6 in their previous game this past Tuesday.
 
"We are excited for the opportunity to play this big conference game at home," Boyle says. "We hope to compete each and every play of the game."
 
(Wingate University athletic media relations/sports network student assistant Jackson Kaplan contributed this article. A sophomore from Raleigh, Kaplan is a Communication Studies major at Wingate.)