Harrogate, Tenn----The 19th-ranked Wingate University sophomore midfielder Daniel Godwin (Greensboro, N.C.) tallied a game-high four goals to boost the visiting Bulldogs to a 14-7 triumph over the Lincoln Memorial University Railsplitters in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse action from the LMU Lacrosse Field Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs' 14 goals are a season-high for the 2017 campaign.
Wingate improves to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the SAC. Lincoln Memorial is now 4-4 overall and 0-2 in league play. The Wingate Bulldogs return to action Wednesday afternoon when they host the sixth-ranked Belmont Abbey Crusaders in a non-conference encounter. LMU hosts 18th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte Saturday, March 25 at 3:30 p.m.
WU junior attack Jeremy Sullivan (Crofton, Md.), senior attack Tanner Kotch (Butler, Pa.) and sophomore attack Alex Llerandi (Marietta, Ga.) supported Godwin's efforts with two goals each. Four other Bulldog student-athletes added one goal each.
For Lincoln Memorial, freshman midfielder Robert Tucker (Wantagh, N.Y.) led the Railsplitters with three tallies, while sophomore attack Kyle Arcuri (Patchogue, N.Y.) contributed two goals. Junior midfielders Billy Kopsky (Smithtown, N.Y.) and Adam Golia (Victoria, British Columbia) each found the back of the net once.
The Bulldog offense exploded to begin the contest, scoring five unanswered goals to grab the early 5-0 advantage with 2:10 remaining in the first quarter. LMU ended the WU scoring run with a goal from Arcuri with 30 seconds left to make it a 5-1 game at the break between quarters.
Wingate struck first in the second quarter with a tally from sophomore midfielder Conor Gronbach (Cary, N.C.) to extend the Bulldog lead out to 6-1 (12:39). LMU answered quickly with back-to-back scores from Kopsky and Tucker to cut the deficit in half at 6-3. Llerandi and Kotch both netted consecutive tallies to close out the stanza and give the visitors an 8-3 advantage at the halftime intermission.
The 'Dogs commenced the second half of play with two straight insurance goals from senior long-stick midfielder Tyler Antram (Whitby, Ontario) and redshirt senior attack Ryan Vogrig (Vancouver, British Columbia) to make it a 10-3 Wingate lead (7:13).
Lincoln Memorial attempted a late comeback with four unanswered goals to trim the margin down to 10-7 with 12:07 in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs closed out the fourth quarter with four straight crucial goals to give Wingate a comfortable 14-7 advantage with 4:04 left in regulation. The 'Dogs held on the for the seven-goal victory.
Wingate senior goalkeeper Michael Conner (Stockport, England) tallied five saves and got the win, playing for a total of 34:04 in the contest. WU junior goalie Will Sheridan (Woodstock, Ga.) played the remaining 25:56 and posted four saves. LMU senior goalkeeper Joe Medel (Virginia Beach, Va.) totaled 14 saves and took the loss. He played the full 60 minutes Sunday.
The Bulldogs outshot LMU 48-28, while posting the 28-16 edge in shots on goal. LMU led 31-28 in ground balls and 14-11 in face-off victories. Wingate scored one goal on two extra-man chances, while LMU posted two tallies on seven extra-man 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.)
