Greeneville, Tenn.----Wingate University redshirt junior attack Shannon O'Neal (Severna Park, Md.) netted the game-winning goal with 2:05 remaining in the overtime period to lift the Bulldogs to an epic 14-13 victory over the Tusculum College Pioneers in South Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse action from Pioneer Field Saturday. O'Neal led all scorers with a career-high seven tallies. Tusculum rallied with five straight goals late in the second half to force overtime.
 
Wingate ends the 2017 regular season at 12-4 overall and 6-2 in the SAC. Tusculum ends its season at 5-11 overall and 3-5 in league play. The Bulldogs will await word on the pairings for the SAC Tournament announced by league officials tonight.
 
WU senior midfielder Laura Swanson (Plantation, Fla.) supported O'Neal's efforts with three goals and one assist in the contest. Senior midfielder Paulena Dempsey (Jarrettsville, Md.) and senior attack Brittany Andrews (Bel Air, Md.) finished with two tallies each. Andrews concluded the regular season with 59 total tallies, while Dempsey finished with 41 goals in 2017.
 
For Tusculum, freshman midfielder Juliette Cusano (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) led the Pioneers with four goals, while junior attack Savannah Elliott (Oshawa, Ontario) added three tallies. Freshman midfielders Emily Gleason (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Brittany Lowery (Sevierville, Tenn.) contributed two goals each. Junior midfielder Madison Malone (Maple Grove, Minn.) finished with one score and a game-high three assists.
 
Tusculum struck first with a goal from Lowery to grab the early 1-0 lead 34 seconds into the opening half. Wingate answered quickly with three straight tallies to take a 3-1 advantage at the 22:36 mark. O'Neal had two goals in the stretch with one tally from Andrews.
 
The Pioneer offense soon exploded with five unanswered goals of its own to take the 5-3 lead with 10:22 remaining. Both teams went back-and-forth in the final minutes of the first stanza with a Swanson goal trimming the deficit down to a 6-5 Pioneer advantage at the 4:23 mark. The score remained the same heading into the halftime intermission.
 
With Tusculum leading 7-6 four minutes into the second stanza, the Bulldogs rallied with three straight scores to give the visitors a 9-7 advantage with 21:56 on the clock. The Pioneers cut the margin down to one goal before the 'Dogs grabbed the commanding 12-8 lead on three consecutive goals with 10:51 to go.
 
The hosts would put together another rally with five straight scores to take the late 13-12 advantage on a goal from Tusculum sophomore attack Rachel Holmes (Norcross, Ga.) with 4:18 left. O'Neal's sixth goal of the day soon knotted the score at 13-13 with 3:25 to go. Neither team would score for the remainder of regulation to force the Bulldogs' first overtime game of the 2017 campaign. O'Neal's career-best seventh goal of the game sealed the victory in Wingate's regular season finale.
 
Wingate sophomore goalkeeper Arion Pierre (Haymarket, Va.) went the distance Saturday, posting 13 total saves and earning the win. Pierre finished the season with a 12-4 record. Tusculum graduate student goalie Kaitlin Winnie (Accord, N.Y.) tallied six stops and took the loss, while playing the final 54:30 in the contest. Pioneer junior goalie Brooke Wagner (Snellville, Ga.) played the first 9:45 in the cage.
 
Tusculum outshot Wingate 34-29, while holding the 26-20 edge in shots on goal. The Pioneers won the 18-12 battle in draw controls and 18-10 in ground balls. Tusculum forced five turnovers compared to Wingate's two. The Bulldogs tallied three goals on seven free-position shots, while the Pioneers netted two tallies on eight 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.)