Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs scored nine unanswered goals over a 22-minute span Saturday afternoon en route to a 16-7 victory over the Tusculum University Pioneers in South Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse action at Graham Gill Field. Wingate improves to 8-7 overall and 5-2 in conference play, while Tusculum falls to 4-11 on the season, and 2-5 in league play.
 
KEY STATS

- Wingate out-shot Tusculum 40-15
- The Bulldogs had 25 shots on goal compared to 12 for the Pioneers
- WU won 18 draw controls; TU won six
- The Pioneers notched nine saves; WU had five
- Tusculum was one-for-one on free position shots; the Bulldogs were two-for-seven
- TU picked up 15 ground balls; WU collected 13

KEY BULLDOGS

- Kendall Wells had four goals on six shots
- Becca Ruiz registered three goals and two assists for a game-high five points
- Nina Cifolilli had three goals and one assist
- Morgan Akers and Ellie Gottschalk each notched two goals
- Seven Bulldogs scored at least one goal
- Arion Pierre collected four saves in cage

NOTES

- Wingate improves to 5-1 all-time against Tusculum, and 3-1 at Graham Gill Field  
- Nine-point advantage is the largest victory against the Pioneers
- Fifth home win of the season, with the five wins coming by a combined 65 goals
- Fifth consecutive win for the Bulldogs
- Seventh time this season Wells has scored at least four goals in a game
- Wells netted her 50th goal of the season

FIRST HALF

- Wingate scored two goals within the first minute
- Wells at the 29:21 mark; Ruiz found the back of the net 13 seconds later
- Tusculum cut it to a one-goal game on Eliza Ryan's goal
- WU went on a 5-0 run spanning only 3:30 of playing time
- Cifolilli netted the first goal at the 24:43 mark
- The Bulldogs' next goal came from Gottschalk less than a minute later making it 4-1
- The next two goals for the 'Dogs came from Wells
- Akers capped the flurry for Wingate with 21:13 to go, making it 7-1
- Tusculum cut it to three with two goals from Juliette Cusano and one from Rachel Holmes
 - The Bulldogs then went on a 9-0 run spanning the next 22 minutes
- Wingate would get the first three goals of the run in the first frame
- Sierra Street would net the final goal of the half with 2:47 left to go

SECOND HALF

- Ruiz found the back of the net for the 'Dogs with 27:28 remaining
- WU got a goal from Emily Ketron at the 26-minute mark
- Gottschalk scored the final goal of the afternoon for Wingate, making 16-4 with 16:48 to go
- Tusculum scored the final three goals of the game, Holmes scored the first at 7:29
- The Pioneers' final two goals came from Cusano

UP NEXT

- Wingate hits the road for their final regular season game at Queens next Saturday