Women's Lacrosse | 3/31/2017 10:16:00 AM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs put their current four-game win streak on the line when they make the short trip up to Salisbury for a crucial South Atlantic Conference showdown versus the Catawba College Indians Saturday afternoon. First draw control is slated for 1 p.m. The 'Dogs have averaged 14.25 goals per contest during the current four-game stretch and look to avenge last season's loss to Catawba in the SAC Tournament opening round.
 
Wingate currently sits at 8-2 overall and 2-1 in the SAC, while Catawba is 8-3 overall and 2-2 in league play. The Indians were victorious in six consecutive games before falling to Coker 15-9 Wednesday evening.
 
"We are excited for the opportunity to play Catawba Saturday," Wingate head women's lacrosse coach Caline McHenry Olmstead says. "They are a very talented and well-coached team."
 
The Bulldogs are led by senior attack Brittany Andrews (Bel Air, Md.), who leads the team and is tied for first in the SAC individual standings with 39 goals on the season. Andrews has tallied back-to-back, six-goal performances versus Coker and Chowan. She is also fourth in the league with 46 total points.
 
WU senior midfielder Paulena Dempsey (Jarrettsville, Md.) is second on the Bulldog charts with 38 points (25 goals, 13 assists). Dempsey posted a season-high six goals against Chowan, along with adding two five-goal games to her senior year resume at Lincoln Memorial (March 19) and Mount Olive (Feb. 21). Dempsey scored her 100th career goal in the win over Chowan.
 
Bulldog redshirt junior attack Shannon O'Neal (Severna Park, Md.) totals 23 tallies on the season, while freshman attack/midfielder Kendall Wells (Elkridge, Md. is the fourth Bulldog to reach double-digit goals with 13. Freshman attack Joanna King (Lancaster, Pa.) ranks second on the team with nine total assists in her first-year campaign.
 
WU sophomore goalkeeper and back-to-back SAC Player of the Week Arion Pierre (Haymarket, Va.) has posted another dominant campaign, starting all 10 games in the cage and tallying 88 saves. Pierre is first in the SAC with a 54.7 save percentage and seconds with 8.17 goals-against average. Pierre also ranks second in the league, allowing only 73 total tallies.
 
For Catawba, senior attack Kirstyn Kruse (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) leads the Indians with 43 total points (31 goals, 12 assists). Freshman attack/midfielder Gianna Pezzulo (Henniker, N.H.) is second on the team with 26 tallies and nine assists, while senior midfielder Nicolette Salay (Columbus, N.J.) has totaled 18 scores.
 
Catawba freshman midfielder Nicole Hunt (Pleasant Garden, N.C.) and freshman attack Katie Barth (Baltimore, Md.) round out the double-digit scorers with 17 and 12 goals, respectively. Junior goalkeeper Madison Anselmo (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) has started all 11 games in the cage, compiling 93 saves, which ranks fourth overall in the SAC.
 
Wingate looks to tie a program record five consecutive victories with a win over the Catawba Indians this Saturday. The Bulldogs are coming off their largest margin of victory in program history Wednesday in a 20-3 rout of Chowan University from Graham Gill Field. The 'Dogs allowed a season-low goals and reached 20 goals for the sixth time in the Bulldogs' four-year history. Wingate has defeated Edinboro (Pa.), Lincoln Memorial, Coker and Chowan in the current win streak.
 
Since falling to Mount Olive 12-3 in its season opener, Catawba won eight of its next nine games, averaging 12.55 tallies per contest in the stretch. The Indians' biggest victory came in a non-conference contest versus West Virginia Wesleyan, which they won 17-9 in Salisbury. Catawba has thrived in Salisbury, posting a 7-1 home record on the season. The Indians look to bounce back from their first home defeat of the season to Coker on Wednesday.
 
Wingate is third overall as a team in the SAC with 127 total goals, while Catawba ranks slightly behind the Bulldogs with 125 team tallies. The Bulldogs are second in the league behind Coker with 12.70 goals per game.
 
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.)