Hartsville, S.C.—-The third-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs scored 21 goals in the final three periods at Coker University Friday afternoon, defeating the Cobras 23-5 in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse action. The Bulldogs improve to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play this season, while Coker drops to 0-7 overall and 0-2 in league play.
 
KEY STATS
 
- Wingate out-shot Coker 57-27
- The Bulldogs won 21 of 31 face-offs
- Coker committed 19 turnovers; WU had 18
- The 'Dogs recorded 44 ground balls to the Cobras' 23
- Coker made 12 saves, while Wingate had nine
- The Bulldogs forced the Cobras to 50 percent (eight-for-16) on clear attempts; Wingate was 11-for-15
- WU converted on three of six extra-man opportunities, limiting Coker to one-for-10 on EMOs
- 11 different Bulldogs scored
 
KEY BULLDOGS
 
- Bobby Padden poured in a career-high seven goals
- The senior attack added two goals for a career-best nine points
- Adam Vodovnik recorded three goals, three assists and six ground balls
- Willie Grieco had three goals and two assists
- Marc Cottage Jr. contributed a career-high three goals
- Danny Riley pitched in two assists and four ground balls
- Evan Zalaquett registered a goal and an assist
- Connor Thompson, Aidan McMahon, Tanner Hegarty, Braylon Baker, John Natoli and Ben Robertson each scored
- Daman Lingasin, Zachary Pizzimenti, Ryan Woolfe and Zach Samson dished out assists
- James Kotcamp won 11 of 16 face-offs and had seven ground balls, while Donovan Jones won 10 of 15 face-offs with six ground balls
- Mark Taccard added three ground balls and two forced turnovers
- John Caponi earned the win, making seven saves through 3+ periods of action
 
FIRST PERIOD
 
- Padden got the 'Dogs on the board early with a goal assisted from Riley just over five minutes in
- Cottage Jr's score extended the lead to 2-0
- Coker got on the board via man-up opportunity to cut the deficit to 2-1 after the first period
 
SECOND PERIOD
 
- Wingate outscored Coker 7-2 in the second frame
- Two Padden goals were separated by a Baker score, as Wingate took a 5-1 lead five minutes into the second period
- Coker's Zyaire Marshall scored to cut into the Bulldog advantage
- Two more Padden scores made it 7-2 at the 4:10 mark
- Following a Coker score, Cottage and Natoli padded the 'Dogs' lead to 9-3 heading into the break
 
THIRD PERIOD
 
- The 'Dogs won the third period by an 8-1 count
- Vodovnik, Padden and Grieco combined to score six times within the first six minutes of the second half
- Padden's seventh goal of the game came with 9:31 left in the third period
- Grieco's score gave the 'Dogs a 15-3 lead with just over nine minutes left in the period
- Coker's score broke into Wingate's streak of eight unanswered goals
- Vodovnik and Cottage closed out the period with the Bulldogs leading 17-4
 
FOURTH PERIOD
 
- Wingate once again scored the first six goals of the fourth period
- Scores from Vodovnik, McMahon and Thompson put WU up 20-4
- Zalaquett, Hegarty and Robertson capped the Wingate scoring at 23 with 3:47 to go
- The Cobras' goal with 18 seconds remaining cemented the final score at 23-5
 
UP NEXT
 
- The Bulldogs return to Graham Gill Field on Wednesday, hosting #12 Queens at 7 p.m.