Hartsville, S.C.----The 18th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs played to a 0-0 draw at Coker University on Wednesday night, clinching the outright regular season South Atlantic Conference men's soccer championship, their first since 2017. The Bulldogs move to 9-3-5 overall and 6-1-4 and earn the top seed in the SAC Tournament, while the Cobras move to 6-1-9 overall and 5-0-6 in league play, earning the two seed in the upcoming SAC tourney.
 
KEY STATS
 
- Coker out-shot Wingate 11-10
- The Cobras held a 7-5 advantage in shots on goal
- CU took five corner kicks to WU's four
- Wingate was called for 15 of 26 fouls on the night
- The Bulldogs received four of five yellow cards in the contest
 
KEY BULLDOGS
 
- Aleksa Janjic made five saves for his sixth shutout of the season
- Pedro Santos put two of three shot attempts on goal
- Emil Svenander and Aleksa Bogicevic each fired a shot on frame
 
NOTES
 
- Marks the program's ninth regular season title; 15th overall SAC championship
- Wingate's 15 men's soccer titles are the most among any SAC school
- Nine of the Bulldogs' 15 titles have come since 2014
- First regular season crown for the 'Dogs since 2017
- The 'Dogs won tourney titles in 2019 and in the 2021 spring season
- The Bulldogs are riding a nine-game unbeaten streak
- WU's last loss came at Catawba on Sept. 21
- Wingate leads the SAC in goal differential, save percentage and goals against average
- The Bulldogs allowed just five goals in 11 conference matches
 
FIRST HALF
 
- Santos put the first shot on goal in the 11th minute
- Owen Marshall made a defensive save on the other end just two minutes later
- Wingate put back-to-back shots on frame, but was turned away around the 33rd minute mark
- The Cobras attempted all four corner kicks in the first half
 
SECOND HALF
 
- Coker got two shots on goal in the opening seven minutes, but saves from Devin Scully and Janjic kept the match scoreless
- The Bulldogs got good looks from both Svenander and Florens van Honk in the final two minutes, but could not cash in
 
UP NEXT
 
- The 'Dogs return to Pride Park for the start of the start of postseason play on Saturday
- Wingate is hosting eighth-seeded Mars Hill at 4 p.m.
- Tickets for Saturday's match are $5