Wingate, N.C.---- The 15th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs held the visiting Tusculum University Pioneers to one goal in the first half Saturday afternoon, celebrating Senior Day with a 12-5 victory in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse action. The two-time defending SAC tournament champion Bulldogs are 10-3 overall and 6-1 in league play, while the Pioneers fall to 6-6 overall and 2-5 in conference play.

THOUGHTS FROM TIM BOYLE

"We are very proud of this senior group and happy that we could come away with a win for them today. This group has contributed so much to the program and the University during their time here at Wingate. We hope to keep working hard so that we can extend their final season. We now have to get to work preparing for a very good Queens team."
  
KEY STATS
 
- Wingate out-shot Tusculum 58-21
- 'Dogs held a 26-12 advantage in shots on goal
- The Bulldogs had a dominant 47 ground balls, compared to 29 for the Pioneers
- WU won 17 face-offs, TU won only three
- The Pioneers went one-for-three in man-up opportunities; while Wingate was zero-for-two
 
KEY BULLDOGS
 
- Alex Llerandi had a game-high five goals, also handing out one assist
- Conor Gronbach piled up four goals on the afternoon
- Dominic Piazza  collected one goal and one assist
- Bobby Padden and Joe Cooper each had one goal
- Wyatt Weiseman won 13-of-16 face-offs
- James Kotcamp was a perfect four-of-four in face-offs
- Alex Cordero collected seven saves for the 'Dogs
 
NOTES
 
- Wingate improves to 7-0  all time against Tusculum and 4-0 at home
- The 'Dogs notched 13 caused turnovers which ties the second highest this season
- The 17-for-20 faceoff wins is the highest win percentage for the Bulldogs this season
- With five goals today Llerandi moves to fourth all time in goals scored in the Wingate record book

FIRST PERIOD
 
- Wingate raced out to an early 3-0 lead, Llerandi netted the first goal of the game at the 13:43 mark
- Cooper collected the next goal for the 'Dogs with 9:19 remaining
-  A minute later Gronbach scored to cap the flurry for Wingate
- Tusculum scored a man-up goal with 5:19 to go when Jordan Daniel found the back of the net
- The Bulldog defensive unit kept the Pioneers from scoring for the next 32 minutes of play
 
SECOND PERIOD
 
- Wingate held Tusculum scoreless in the second frame
- At the 11:46 mark Padden scored an unassisted goal for the Bulldogs to make it 4-1
- Piazza netted the final goal of the frame to give the 'Dogs a four-goal halftime lead
 
THIRD PERIOD
 
- The 'Dogs would start the second half with four straight goals
- Llerandi collected the first two at the 12:34 and 10:13 marks respectively
- Wingate would get another Gronbach goal with 7:03 to play
- Less than a minute later, Llerandi would find the back of the net again, giving the Bulldogs the 9-1 advantage
- The Pioneers scored their first goal in over 30 minutes when Liam Macdonald scored at the 3:13 mark
- Gronbach scored the final goal of the frame with 35 seconds to go

FOURTH PERIOD
 
- Less than 30 seconds into the final frame Gronbach found the back of the net again
- Tusculum would score the next two goals make it 11-4 with 9:28 remaining
- Wingate's final goal of the day came from Llerandi at the 8:22 mark
- Tusculum capped the scoring with 6:37 to go with a goal from Lorenz Brown
 
UP NEXT
 
- Wingate hits the road for the final regular season game at Queens next Saturday