Women's Lacrosse | 4/7/2017 12:15:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs look to continue their best start in program history when the Newberry College Wolves come to town for a South Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse showdown from Graham Gill Field at the Irwin Belk Track Complex Saturday afternoon. First draw control is slated for a 1 p.m. start. The visiting Bulldogs defeated the Wolves 21-10 during the 2016 campaign.
 
Wingate is 9-2 overall and 3-1 in the SAC, while Newberry is 5-9 overall and 1-4 in league play. The Bulldogs currently have tied the longest win streak in program history with five consecutive victories, coming off a 14-8 triumph at Catawba last weekend. Newberry looks to end its two-game losing streak with back-to-back losses to SCAD-Savannah and Lenoir-Rhyne.
 
The Bulldogs are led by senior attack Brittany Andrews (Bel Air, Md.), who has posted a dominant final season in the Navy Blue and Vegas Gold by leading the team with 46 goals and nine assists. Andrews ranks second in the SAC with her goal total. She tied a school record with seven goals versus Catawba. Andrews also ranks fourth in the nation in total goals and fifth overall in NCAA Division II women's lacrosse with 4.18 goals per game.
 
WU senior midfielder Paulena Dempsey (Jarrettsville, Md.) is second on the Bulldog list with 29 goals and a team-leading 14 assists. Redshirt junior attack Shannon O'Neal (Severna Park, Md.) and freshman attack/midfielder Kendall Wells (Elkridge, Md.) each have also reached double-digit goals with 24 and 15 tallies, respectively. Freshman attack Joanna King (Lancaster, Pa.) is tied for second on the Bulldogs with nine assists.
 
Wingate sophomore goalie Arion Pierre (Haymarket, Va.) has started every game in the cage for the Bulldogs, ranking first in the SAC and fourth in the nation with a 54.7 save percentage. Pierre is also second in the league standings and 14th in Division II with 8.15 goals-against average. Pierre has posted 98 total saves on the season.
 
Newberry sophomore midfielder Rachel Dillon (Chesapeake Beach, Md.) leads the Wolves' offensive attack with 42 total tallies, which ranks third overall in the league and eighth in the country. Five other Wolves have reached double-digit goals with senior midfielder/defender Maddie Campbell (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) placing second with 23 tallies and a team-leading nine assists.
 
Wolves redshirt sophomore attack Naomi Killian (Lilburn, Ga.) has added 17 goals, while junior midfielder/attack Alexis Kahler (West Bloomfield, Mich.) has found the back of the net 12 times. Junior attack Helen Kuhn (Charlotte Hall, Md.) and junior midfielder Kylee Shoop (Triangle, Va.) have posted 11 and 10 tallies, respectively. Newberry sophomore goalie Brandy Bowman (Irvine, Calif.) leads the league and the nation with 160 total saves on the season.
 
The Wingate Bulldogs look to extend their win streak to six games for the first time in the program's four-year history with a victory Saturday. The 'Dogs have averaged 14.2 goals per game during the stretch and allowed only 6.6 tallies per contest. Wingate posted its largest margin of victory in program history with a 20-3 win over Chowan University (March 29).
 
Newberry looks for only its second win in conference play, losing every league game besides an 11-10 triumph over Brevard College. Since defeating Nyack 15-14 on March 9, the Wolves have lost five out of their last six games, managing only 6.8 goals per contest in each loss. Newberry is 2-2 overall away from Setzler Field with wins at Emmanuel and Brevard.
 
WU head coach Caline McHenry Olmsted's squad looks to continue to gain ground in the SAC standings, currently sitting at fourth overall behind Coker (4-1), Lenoir-Rhyne (5-1) and first-place Queens University of Charlotte (4-0). The Bulldogs will play three of their last four regular season games on the road with the final home game versus Brevard on April 15. Wingate hits the road to SCAD-Savannah this Wednesday (5:30 p.m. start), while playing back-to-back league games against Queens (April 19) and Tusculum (April 22) to close out the 2017 campaign.
 
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.)