Wingate, N.C.----Wingate senior attack Brittany Andrews (Bel Air, Md.) and redshirt junior attack Shannon O'Neal (Severna Park, Md.) tallied three goals each to boost the host Bulldogs to an 8-4 triumph over the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Fighting Scots in NCAA Division II women's lacrosse action from Graham Gill Field in the Irwin Belk Track Complex Wednesday afternoon. Andrews increased her team-leading goal total to 25 tallies in her final season in the Navy Blue and Vegas Gold.
 
Wingate improves to 5-2 overall, while Edinboro falls to 1-2 overall. The Wingate Bulldogs return to action this Saturday for the first 2017 South Atlantic Conference road contest versus Lincoln Memorial from Harrogate, Tenn. First draw control is slated for 3 p.m. Edinboro concludes its N.C. road trip with a visit to Catawba College this Friday for a 4 p.m. start.
 
WU senior midfielder Laura Swanson (Plantation, Fla.) and freshman attack Joanna King (Lancaster, Pa.) supported O'Neal and Andrews' efforts with one goal each. Senior midfielder Paulena Dempsey (Jarrettsville, Md.) led the Bulldogs with two assists, while Andrews and freshman attack Kendall Wells (Elkridge, Md.) each tallied one assist.
 
For Edinboro, sophomore attack Stephanie Chido (Erie, Pa.) topped the Fighting Scot scoring charts with two tallies, while senior midfielder Emily Peters (Clarence Center, N.Y.) and senior defender Rachel Olson (Canandaigua, N.Y.) each found the back of net once.
 
The Bulldog offense exploded within the first few minutes of the contest, sprinting out to the early 4-0 advantage with 23:41 remaining in the first half. O'Neal led Wingate with two goals in the stretch, along with tallies from Andrews and King. Edinboro answered with three straight scores of its own to trim the deficit down to one goal with 11 seconds remaining in the half. The 'Dogs held the narrow 4-3 advantage at the halftime intermission.
 
Wingate began the second half strong with back-to-back goals from Andrews and Swanson to extend the WU lead out to 6-3. The contest was a tight defensive battle in the second frame of play with the Fighting Scots cutting the margin down to 6-4 on a goal from Peters at the 15:13 plateau.
 
Neither team would score until the 3:41 mark of the half when consecutive insurance goals from O'Neal and Andrews added to the Wingate advantage at 8-4 with 1:29 left in regulation. The Bulldogs held strong for the four-goal victory.
 
WU sophomore goalkeeper Arion Pierre (Haymarket, Va.) and Edinboro junior goalie Paige Skinner (Jamesville, N.Y.) each posted nine saves and played the full 60 minutes in the cage. Pierre took the win, improving her record to 5-2 while Skinner took the loss and fell to 1-2 overall.
 
Wingate swept every major statistical category, outshooting Edinboro 20-15. The Bulldogs converted 18 ground balls off 17 Fighting Scot turnovers, while maintaining the slight 9-5 edge in draw controls. Edinboro had no goals on two free-position shots and Wingate netted one tally on two free-position opportunities.
 
(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.)