Women's Lacrosse | 4/18/2017 1:51:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women's lacrosse team makes the short trip up East Independence Boulevard to the Queen City for a huge South Atlantic Conference rivalry encounter versus eighth-ranked Queens University of Charlotte Wednesday afternoon (live stats and PPV live video). First draw control is slated for a 4 p.m. start from the Queens Sports Complex.
 
Wingate currently sits at 11-3 overall and 5-1 in the SAC. Queens is 12-3 overall and 6-0 in league play. The Bulldogs currently sit at second place overall in the SAC standings, placing one game behind first-place Queens. The 'Dogs are coming off a 17-5 victory over Brevard on Senior Day Saturday.
 
The Bulldogs are led by senior attack Brittany Andrews (Bel Air, Md.), who ranks fourth in the nation with 56 total goals and fourth in NCAA Division II women's lacrosse with 4.31 goals per contest. Andrews also is third overall in the league individual standings, posting 69 total points on the season (56 goals, 13 assists).
 
WU senior midfielder Paulena Dempsey (Jarrettsville, Md.) is second on the Bulldog charts with 57 total points (37 goals, 20 assists). Dempsey ranks fourth in the SAC with her 2017 assist total. Redshirt junior attack Shannon O'Neal (Severna Park, Md.) is second on the team with 38 tallies. O'Neal has averaged 4.6 goals in the last three contests.
 
Wingate freshman attack/midfielder Kendall Wells (Elkridge, Md.) has contributed 19 goals and six assists, while freshman midfielder Casey Roux (Rochester, N.Y.) adds 12 goals in her first-year campaign. Freshman attack Joanna King (Lancaster, Pa.) ranks third on the Bulldogs with 11 assists, along with tallying six goals.
 
Bulldog sophomore goalkeeper Arion Pierre (Haymarket, Va.) continues her dominant season in the cage, posting 114 total saves. Pierre leads the SAC and is fifth in the nation with a 51.8 save percentage. Pierre ranks second in the league with 8.66 goals-against average and only 106 goals allowed on the season. Prior to this week, she was awarded the SAC Defensive Player of the Week four consecutive weeks.
 
For Queens, the Royals are led by senior attack Hanna Scott (Centreville, Md.), who leads the team with 48 points (31 goals, 17 assists). Senior midfielder Alexandra Bruder (Ocean City, Md.) has tallied 37 total scores to lead the Royals, while senior midfielder Kelly Dowd (Stony Point, N.Y.) contributes 30 tallies.
 
Queens senior attack Abigail Paulus (Pickerington, Ohio) and freshman attack Ally Blood (Jarrettsville, Md.) have totaled 22 goals each. Sophomore attack Katie Pawlikowski (Severna Park, Md.) contributes 20 tallies on the season. Royal freshman goalkeeper Chase Brokaw (Sykesville, Md.) has started 13 out of 15 games in the cage, tallying 93 total stops. Brokaw leads the SAC with her 7.38 goals-against average.
 
Queens leads the league with 219 goals as a team, while Wingate is fourth with 196 total team scores. The Royals post the 18th-best scoring offense in the nation with 15.07 goals per game. The Bulldogs are 25th in the country with 14 tallies per contest as a team.
 
The Royals are currently the number eight team in the IWLCA coaches' poll, posting an undefeated record in conference play. After losing its season opener to (then) 13th-ranked Limestone College, Queens was victorious in 12 of its next 13 games. The Royals are coming off a 14-8 loss to second-ranked and undefeated Lindenwood (Mo.) University Monday afternoon.
 
The Wingate Bulldogs got off to their best start in program history after beginning the 2017 campaign with a 4-1 record. Since falling to Lenoir-Rhyne on March 11, the 'Dogs won a program-record six consecutive games, averaging 15.3 goals per contest within the stretch. Wingate lost to NAIA #1 SCAD Savannah on April 12 before bouncing back with a dominant 17-5 triumph over Brevard.
 
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.)