Women's Lacrosse | 3/17/2017 5:38:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs seek their first South Atlantic Conference triumph of the 2017 campaign when they make the trip to Harrogate, Tenn. to face the Lincoln Memorial University Railsplitters for a 12 noon start Sunday afternoon (please note schedule change). Most recently, the Bulldogs earned an 8-4 non-conference win over Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Wednesday. Wingate fell to Lenoir-Rhyne 14-12 in its SAC opener last Saturday.
 
Wingate is 5-2 overall and 0-1 in the SAC, while Lincoln Memorial is 2-4 overall and 1-1 in league play. LMU dropped a 16-9 decision to Virginia-Wise in the its previous game; however, the Railsplitters achieved a milestone when they won their first-ever SAC game in program history by defeating Newberry 15-9 on March 4.
 
The WU Bulldogs are led by senior attack Brittany Andrews (Bel Air, Md.), who leads her team and ranks third in the SAC with 25 goals in her final season in the Navy Blue and Vegas Gold. Andrews tallied back-to-back, six-goal performances last week versus Charleston (W.Va.) and Lenoir-Rhyne. She also posted five tallies against Pfeiffer on March 1.
 
Bulldog senior midfielder Paulena Dempsey (Jarrettsville, Md.) is second on the WU charts with 23 total points (12 goals, 11 assists). Redshirt junior attack Shannon O'Neal (Severna Park, Md.) has the second-most goals for the Bulldogs with 16 scores, while freshman attack/midfielder Kendall Wells (Elkridge, Md.) rounds out the top four scorers with nine goals.
 
Dempsey had five goals in the season opener against Mount Olive (Feb. 21), while O'Neal had two straight four-goal games versus Charleston and LRU last week. Sophomore goalkeeper Arion Pierre (Haymarket, Va.) has started all seven games in the cage, ranking fifth in the SAC with 63 total saves and second with a 53.8 save percentage. Pierre had a career-high 18 saves versus sixth-ranked Rollins College (Feb. 26).
 
For Lincoln Memorial, three student-athletes have posted double-digit goals with sophomore midfielder Casey Kelly (Elennwood, Ga.) leading the charge with 16 tallies and six assists. Sophomore attack/midfielder Jasmin Click (Clermont, Fla.) has 13 goals, while sophomore midfielder Amara Moss (Woodbridge, Va.) has found the back of the net 10 times.
 
LMU freshman attack Kennedy Buechner (Stafford, Va.) has nine goals, while senior attack/midfielder Heather Roache (Vero Beach, Fla.) and freshman midfielder Zoe Zervos (Ithaca, N.Y.) contribute eight goals each. Junior goalie Shannon Novak (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.) has made all seven starts in the cage with 61 total saves.
 
Andrews and O'Neal each posted three goals to lead the Wingate Bulldogs to a bounce-back 8-4 victory over the Edinboro Fighting Scots in a tight, defensive battle Wednesday. Wingate allowed a season-low four goals and used an early 4-0 advantage with only 23:41 left in the first half to boost the 'Dogs to victory. WU senior midfielder Laura Swanson (Plantation, Fla.) and freshman attack Joanna King (Lancaster, Pa.) both added one goal each to contribute to the winning effort.
 
Lincoln Memorial fell to 0-2 to begin the season with losses to Shorter University (Feb. 11) and the University of Alabama at Huntsville (Feb. 25). The Railsplitters rebounded with back-to-back victories over Newberry and Ursuline (March 6), scoring a combined 31 goals in the two contests. LMU looks to end their current two-game losing streak following consecutive defeats to Catawba and Virginia-Wise.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,200 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 35 minors, 12 career concentrations, nine pre-professional programs, master's degrees in accounting, business, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in education, pharmacy and physical therapy.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past 10 years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
               
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 88 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate is number one in this millennium with 88 Academic All-America® honorees. Wingate is tops among all SAC schools with 97 lifetime Academic All-America® picks. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.
 
(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.)