Lakeland, Fla.----The sixth-ranked Florida Southern College Mocs jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first half, then held off a second-half surge from Wingate University en route to a 19-13 victory in NCAA Division II women's lacrosse action. Florida Southern improves to 4-1 on the season, while the Bulldogs drop their first game of 2022 to move to 5-1.

KEY STATS

- Florida Southern had a 36-32 advantage in shots
- The Mocs held a 31-24 edge in shots on goal
- FSC won 20 of the 34 draw controls
- Florida Southern collected 26 ground balls compared to Wingate's 17
- The Bulldogs committed 18 turnovers; the Mocs had 20 turnovers
- FSC was 18-for-22 on clear attempts, while WU was successful in 16 of 22 clear attempts

KEY BULLDOGS

- Leah Knowles led the way with four goals, two assists and five draw controls
- Bella Pellet matched a career-high with four goals scored
- Becca Ruiz recorded two goals
- Madi Caldwell added two of the team's four assists on the day
- Avery Scherer found the scoresheet and added three draw controls
- Abby Burke and Danielle Scarfogliero also scored for the 'Dogs
- Kaleigh Wilgeroth chipped in two ground balls and two caused turnovers
- Megan Biase made 12 saves

FIRST PERIOD

-The Mocs jumped on the scoreboard early, scoring each of the first six goals of the contest
- Knowles assisted to Scarfogliero for the 'Dogs first score of the day at the 1:06 mark
- FSC added a goal before the end of the period to take a 7-1 lead after 15 minutes

SECOND PERIOD

-The Mocs extended their lead with the first three goals scored in the second period
- Pellet scored twice in just over five minutes, as the 'Dogs trailed 12-3 at the break

THIRD PERIOD

- After a lightning delay at halftime, Wingate outscored FSC 6-3 in the third period
- Ruiz and Knowles scored back-to-back goals early in the half to cut into the Moc lead
- Knowles and Burke found the back of the net in consecutive scores, marking the Bulldogs scoring four of five goals to bring the score to 14-7
- FSC responded with a goal, but Scherer and Pellet answered with the team's third back-to-back scores of the period, cutting their deficit to 15-9 heading into the final period

FOURTH PERIOD

­- Marlee Moon Gaddy fired a goal to give the Mocs a seven-goal cushion
- Florida Southern matched two Knowles goals in a three-minute span to keep the seven-score difference
- Pellet and Ruiz goals brought Wingate to within five, their closest deficit since the first period
- Hailey Deleo's score for the Mocs was the final score of the game at the 4:50 mark

UP NEXT

-The 'Dogs return to SAC play on Saturday, visiting the Coker Cobras for a noon start
- Wingate is back at Graham Gill Field on Wednesday, March 16 for a matchup with #3 Queens