Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University men's lacrosse team scored seven unanswered goals on the way to a 12-7 South Atlantic Conference victory over Mars Hill University on Graham Gill Field at the Irwin Belk Track Complex Saturday afternoon. WU senior attack Austin Murphy (Orillia, Ontario) led the host Bulldogs with three goals and one assist, including two scores in the 7-0 explosion which erased a 6-5 WU deficit late in the third quarter.
 
Wingate makes first-year head coach Tim Boyle a winner in his SAC debut. The Bulldogs improve to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the SAC. The seven-goal outburst is Wingate's second of the 2017 season, as the 'Dogs scored seven in a row in a season-opening victory over Young Harris. The Mars Hill Lions fall to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the league. Wingate hosts Lynn (Fla.) University Tuesday in the second game of a three-game home stand. First face-off is slated for 11 a.m.
 
"We played very tentatively at times today," Boyle says. "We have the ability to play fast as we did in the fourth quarter. We were winning face-offs and ground balls…and making clean clears. Today, we played two quarters out of four. We are still a work in progress, but I was very happy with how we performed in the fourth quarter today."
 
After Mars Hill took an early 1-0 lead, Wingate responded with four goals by four players to take a 4-1 advantage on a Murphy goal with 90 seconds left in the first quarter. The Bulldogs led 4-2 after the opening 15 minutes after MHU junior attack Dima Ferreira (Abingdon, Va.) scored with only 16 seconds left.
 
Ferreira's goal started a 4-0 run for the visitors which ended when Ferreira found senior midfielder Nathan Stewart (New Westminster, B.C.) for a score at the 7:24 mark of the second quarter. Wingate junior attack Jeremy Sullivan (Crofton, Md.) stopped the bleeding, scoring an unassisted goal with 5:11 left in the first half. Sullivan's tally made the score 5-5 as the teams entered the halftime intermission.
 
Ferreira started the second half with a goal on an assist from sophomore attack Josh Bryers (Stoney Creek, Ontario), giving the Lions their final lead at 6-5 with five minutes gone in the third frame. Wingate sophomore attack Alex Llerandi (Marietta, Ga.) started the Bulldog rally, thanks to an assist from redshirt senior attack Ryan Vogrig (Vancouver, B.C.) with two minutes to play in the third. The two teams ended the first 45 minutes tied 6-6.
 
Bulldog senior long-stick midfielder Tyler Antram (Whitby, Ontario) scored the game-winner (on another Vogrig assist) with only 24 seconds elapsed in the fourth quarter. Counting Llerandi's third-quarter-ending goal, six different players scored in the 7-0 run. Murphy's two scores in the flurry were back-to-back (12:16, 8:29), both on assists from sophomore attack Ryan Ormerod (Lake Mary, Fla.).
 
Murphy's offensive fireworks made the score 11-6 Bulldogs. Sullivan sealed the deal with five minutes and change on the clock, giving the hosts their 12th score on an unassisted goal. Both of Sullivan's scores were the result of extra-man opportunities for Wingate. MHU senior midfielder Alex Lipsky (Marietta, Ga.) completed the scoring two minutes later, thanks to a Stewart assist.
 
Wingate junior goalkeeper Will Sheridan (Woodstock, Ga.) got his third victory of the season with 11 saves and three ground balls. Sheridan allowed only seven goals in 60 minutes. Mars Hill junior goalie Ryan Kearney (Tallahassee, Fla.) also went the distance, surrendering 12 goals and posting 12 saves.