Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University senior attack Brittany Andrews (Bel Air, Md.) posted a season (and game)-high six goals and seven points to lead the Bulldogs to a dominant 17-8 triumph over the University of Charleston Golden Eagles in NCAA Division II women's lacrosse action from Graham Gill Field at the Irwin Belk Track Complex Tuesday afternoon.
 
Wingate is off to its best start in program history, improving to 4-1 overall. Charleston is now 1-6 overall. The Bulldogs are back in action this Saturday when they host South Atlantic Conference rival Lenoir-Rhyne for a 12 noon first draw control. Charleston travels to Walsh (Ohio) University Saturday, Mar. 18 for a 2 p.m. start.
 
Andrews increases her season total to a team-leading 16 goals on the season. WU redshirt junior attack Shannon O'Neal (Severna Park, Md.) and senior midfielder Paulena Dempsey (Jarrettsville, Md.) tallied five total points each with O'Neal totaling four goals and one assist, while Dempsey had one goal and a game-high four assists. Dempsey is second on the WU scoring charts with 12 tallies in her final campaign, while O'Neal has nine total scores.
 
Bulldog freshman attack/midfielder Kendall Wells (Elkridge, Md.) finished with two tallies and two assists. Freshman attack Addison Billings (York, Pa.) tallied her first career goal. Senior midfielder Laura Swanson (Plantation, Fla.), sophomore midfielder Emily Ketron (Mason, Ohio) and sophomore defender/midfielder Megan Amrein (Abington, Md.) both also posted one tally each.
 
Charleston struck first to take the early 1-0 advantage on a goal from sophomore midfielder/attack Aryanna Jones (Shaker Heights, Ohio) with 27:38 left in the opening half. The Bulldogs answered quickly with five consecutive scores to grab a commanding 5-1 lead five minutes later and they never looked back.
 
The Golden Eagles ended the WU explosion with a tally from freshman attack Megan Sheesley (Culpepper, Va.) to make the score 5-2 at the 20:43 mark, but the Wingate offense responded again with six straight goals to extend its huge advantage to 11-2 with 4:31 left in the first half. The 'Dogs held an 11-3 lead at the halftime intermission.
 
Wingate commenced the second half with three consecutive tallies to make it a 14-3 game with 24:47 on the clock. Charleston would cut the deficit down to nine goals on two occasions, but would not get any closer as the Bulldogs held on for the huge nine-goal triumph.
 
For the Golden Eagles, three student-athletes finished with two goals each to lead the Charleston scoring efforts: Jones, freshman attack Shawna Kleinfelter (Palmyra, Pa.) and freshman defender Rachel Kerwin (St. Louis, Mo.). Sheesley and freshman defender Emma Renda (Owego, N.Y.) finished with one score each.
 
Wingate sophomore goalkeeper Arion Pierre (Haymarket, Va.) posted eight saves and got the win, improving to 4-1 overall. Pierre played for three seconds less than 50 minutes. WU junior goalie Nicole Hinkle (Fallston, Md.) compiled two saves and played for 10 minutes and three seconds in the contest. Charleston freshman goalkeeper Rachel Cokeley (Charleston, W.Va.) tallied five saves and took the loss. She went the distance Tuesday.
 
The Bulldogs outshot Charleston 24-21, while maintaining the 15-11 in draw controls. Both teams tied at 14-14 in ground balls, while the Golden Eagles led 5-4 in caused turnovers. Charleston had three goals on five free-position shots, while Wingate posted one tally 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.)