Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University senior attack Brittany Andrews (Bel Air, Md.) tallied a game-high four goals to increase her season total to 34, lifting the Bulldogs to a 13-10 South Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse victory over the Coker College from Graham Gill Field at the Irwin Belk Track Complex Saturday afternoon.
 
Wingate extends its current win streak to three games, improving to 7-2 overall and 2-1 in the SAC. Coker suffers its first loss in conference action, falling to 7-3 overall and 3-1 in league play. The Wingate Bulldogs return to action Wednesday evening for a non-conference home encounter versus Chowan University at 4 p.m. Coker travels to Catawba on the same day and time.
 
WU redshirt junior attack Shannon O'Neal (Severna Park, Md.) finished second on the Bulldog charts with three goals, while freshman attack/midfielder Kendall Wells (Elkridge, Md.) and senior midfielder Paulena Dempsey (Jarrettsville, Md.) had two tallies each. Freshman attack Joanna King (Lancaster, Pa.) and freshman midfielder Casey Roux (Rochester, N.Y.) both found the back of the net once. O'Neal now ranks second on the Bulldog list with 23 goals with Dempsey at third on the WU scoring charts with 19 tallies.
 
For Coker, senior midfielder Mackenzie Baker (Orlando, Fla.) and junior attack Haley McCusker (Warwick, R.I.) led the Cobra scoring efforts with three goals each. Junior attack Claudia Jenkins (Keedysville, Md.) and senior defender Marabeth Durden (Orlando, Fla.) added two tallies apiece.
 
Coker struck first with a goal from Baker to take the early 1-0 advantage at the 25:39 mark, but Wingate answered with back-to-back scores from Andrews and Dempsey to give the Bulldogs their first lead at 2-1. The Cobras stormed back with three unanswered tallies of their own to regain the 4-2 advantage at the 18-minute mark.
 
The Wingate Bulldogs quickly responded with a huge five-goal run to take a 7-4 lead at the 12:48 plateau. They never looked back from this point forward. Both teams exchanged goals to make it 8-6 with 5:53 left, but then Andrews netted two tallies in 19 seconds with assists from Wells and freshman defender Sierra Street (Fuquay-Varina, N.C.) to take a 10-6 lead into the halftime intermission.
 
O'Neal found the back of the net two straight times to begin the second half, extending the WU advantage out to 12-6 with 26:19 to go. Coker cut the deficit down to 12-8 on consecutive tallies from Baker and McCusker four minutes later; however, Andrews added the last insurance tally for the host Bulldogs to make the score 13-8 at the 17:12 mark. The Cobras posted back-to-back scores with 8:40 left, but it would not be enough as Wingate obtained the three-goal triumph.
 
Wingate sophomore goalkeeper and reigning SAC Defensive Player of the Week Arion Pierre (Haymarket, Va.) posted 12 saves and got the win, improving her record to 7-2. She went the distance Saturday. Coker freshman goalie Cassie Williams (Rockledge, Fla.) played the full 60 minutes and tallied seven total stops, taking the loss.
 
Wingate outshot Coker by a slight 26-25 margin, while Coker held the 19-18 advantage in ground balls. The Bulldogs won 15-10 in draw controls and forced 18 Cobra turnovers. Coker tallied one goal on two extra-man chances. The visiting Cobras had two tallies on five free-position shots, while Wingate posted one score on three 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.)