Hickory, N.C.----The second-seed Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears utilized a run of six unanswered goals to end the first half to defeat the third-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs 17-13 in Friday night's South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse tournament at Moretz Stadium. The Bears advance to Sunday's SAC title game versus top-seed Limestone, while Wingate drops to 12-4 overall.
 
KEY STATS
 
- Wingate out-shot Lenoir-Rhyne 51-47
- The Bulldogs held a slight 31-29 advantage in shots on goal
- The Bears were 19-for-21 on clear attempts; WU was 15-of-20
- LR had a 37-32 advantage in ground balls
- Lenoir-Rhyne won 17 of 32 face-offs
- The 'Dogs capitalized on each of their three man-up opportunities, while limiting the Bears to one-for-three
 
KEY BULLDOGS
 
- Willie Grieco paced the 'Dogs offensively with three goals, four assists and three ground balls
- Bobby Padden chipped in two goals and two assists
- Daman Lingasin tallied a first-half hat trick
- Adam Vodovnik added a pair of goals
- Danny Riley registered a goal and an assist
- James Kotcamp scored a goal and collected six ground balls, while Aidan McMahon also found the back of the net
- Joe Karnich dished out an assist and recorded three ground balls and two assists
- AJ Lohmuller also forced two turnovers
- KC Carlson made nine saves in the first half
 
FIRST PERIOD
 
- Wingate got out to a fast start, scoring the first three goals Friday night
- Lingasin picked up a man-up goal less than three minutes in
- Grieco and Lingasin scored 22 seconds apart, as the 'Dogs took an early 3-0 lead
- LR's Evan Voss and Joe Venazio picked up scores in the rest of the period, cutting into the lead
 
SECOND PERIOD
 
- The Bears' Bryce Reece scored at the 13:46 mark to tie the game at 3
- Wingate fired back with back-to-back goals from Vodovnik and Lingasin to take a 5-3 lead with 10 and a half minutes to go in the half
- LR scored the final six goals of the period, taking a 9-5 advantage into the break
 
THIRD PERIOD
 
- The Bulldogs cut the deficit in half in the first two and a half minutes, as Padden and Riley tallied goals in the early going
- LR responded with two goals within 22 seconds of each other, regaining their four-goal advantage
- McMahon's goal at the 10:22 mark brough the score to 11-8
- The teams traded goals the rest of the period, as Vodovnik followed a Colten McCracken score
- Then, Grieco scored the final goal of nine-goal frame; LR led 13-10 with 15 minutes to go
 
FOURTH PERIOD
 
- Jackson Price's man-up goal gave the Bears a four-goal advantage at the 12:34 mark
- Grieco responded with another score less than a minute later
- LR scored back-to-back goals as they slowed the pace in the middle of the fourth
- The 'Dogs didn't back down, though, as Padden and Kotcamp recorded scores to cut the deficit to 16-13 with just under four minutes remaining
- It proved to be not enough, though, as Voss added on another score late in the fourth