St. Charles, Mo.----The nation's top-ranked scoring defense was no match for the Wingate's potent attack Wednesday night, as the 10th-ranked Bulldogs outscored the seventh-ranked Lindenwood University Lions 12-3 in the second half en route to a 20-11 victory in the opening round of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament on Wednesday night. The Bulldogs earn their second NCAA Tournament win in program history and advance to the national quarterfinal, while improving to 13-4 overall on the season, while the Lions end their season at 12-4.

THOUGHTS FROM DANNY RILEY

"First let's just say one heck of a night, a night to remember for me and the whole team. We were focused all week and we knew we had to be. This is postseason play, a totally different game and we showed up, we want this and we all know its win or go home. It was back and forth in the first half and at halftime we knew we had to come out on all cylinders and take over and that's what we did. I can't thank my teammates for hyping me up and keeping me going and hats off to Willie, Bobby and Adam. The trio down there is unreal and when our offense is clicking we are a threat. Shout out to the boys on the other side of the net also being calm and composed, we need that from them and they pulled through. Can't be more proud of this team and how far we have come this season, but the job's not finished and we know that, see you guys Sunday!"
 
KEY STATS
 
- Lindenwood out-shot Wingate 51-37
- The Bulldogs held a 26-25 advantage in shots on goal
- The 'Dogs piled up 17 assists on their 20 goals scored
- Lindenwood recorded 36 of 64 ground balls
- LU was 14-of-17 on clear attempts, while WU was 15-for-23
- The Lions won 19 of 34 face-offs
 
KEY BULLDOGS
 
- Danny Riley poured in a career-high seven goals, while adding an assist and three ground balls
- Bobby Padden also recorded eight points with three goals and five assists, adding three ground balls and two caused turnovers
- Adam Vodovnik piled on a season-high five goals along with two assists and three ground balls
- Willie Grieco was the fourth Bulldog with seven or more points Wednesday night, chipping in a goal and a game-high six assists
- John Natoli dished out a pair of assists
- Daman Lingasin, Aidan McMahon, Joe Karnich and Marc Cottage Jr. recorded a goal apiece for Wingate
- Nick Arnold picked up an assist and a team-high four ground balls
- Brody Baker and Peyton Farley led the way defensively with two caused turnovers apiece
- John Caponi notched seven saves while allowing just three second-half goals
- KC Carlson registered seven saves in the opening half
- James Kotcamp won seven-of-14 face-offs and had three ground balls
 
NOTES
 
- Wingate earns its second NCAA Tournament win in program history
- The Bulldogs have now defeated GLVC teams in back-to-back tournaments after knocking out UIndy in 2021
- Wingate will make its third appearance in the national quarterfinals; the 'Dogs are 1-1 in their previous two trips
- Lindenwood entered the contest with a nation's-best 7.07 goals-against average
- The 20 goals the 'Dogs scored are seven more than any team scored on the Lions all year
- Only the fourth time a team has hit double figures against Lindenwood
- The Lions had only allowed over 11 goals once this year; the 'Dogs scored 12 in the second half alone
- All-Americans Riley, Padden, Vodovnik and Grieco recorded 30 of Wingate's 37 points on the night
- Third time the Bulldogs have hit the 20-goal mark this season
- The 37 points are the second-most this season for the 'Dogs
- Fifth win over a ranked team for Wingate this year; third over a top-10 opponent
 
FIRST PERIOD
 
- Karnich got the offense going early for the Bulldogs with a score 26 seconds into the game
- Vodovnik scored off a Grieco assist less than a minute later as WU took an early 2-0 lead
- Lindenwood's Peter Covington got the Lions on the board at the 10:38 mark
- Riley answered 20 seconds later to regain the two-score lead
- The Lions responded with a score from Patrick Kaschalk
- As the shot clock was expiring, McMahon fired a deep shot off a Grieco assist to give the Bulldogs a 4-2 lead halfway through the period
- Lindenwood again responded with a score from Ryan Kemp
- Vodovnik scored for the second time in the opening period as the two sides continued trading scores
- LU's Nolan Corker scored at the buzzer, as the Bulldogs took a 5-4 lead after a back-and-forth opening 15 minutes
 
SECOND PERIOD
 
- Wingate lost its lead for the first time in the contest when Corker scored again after the break as the Lions tied the game at five
- Grieco scored his lone goal of the night at the 12:24 mark to regain the lead
- Kemp knotted the score once again with just over 10 minutes remaining
- A minute later, Riley cashed in on a man-up opportunity, pulling Wingate ahead
- The Lions took their only lead of the night after back-to-back scores from Corker and Dylan Colon, leading 8-7 with 7:13 to go
- Vodovnik completed his first-half hat trick for the final score of the half at the 6:06 mark
 
THIRD PERIOD
 
- The Bulldogs jumped ahead to start the second half, scoring the first four goals
- Riley and Vodovnik scored on back-to-back Natoli assists to get to double digits
- Padden and Riley capped the four-goal spurt over the opening 5+ minutes, putting WU on top 12-8
- Lindenwood's only goal of the third period came from Kaschalk with eight minutes to go
- Lingasin and Riley finished off the 'Dogs' 6-1 third period with goals, as Wingate took a 14-9 advantage into the final 15 minutes
 
FOURTH PERIOD
 
- Kemp scored on a man-up chance for the Lions to open the fourth period
- Wingate once again poured in four unanswered goals to ice away any comeback hopes for the Lions
- Padden scored two in a row before Riley did the same, as Wingate showed signs of running away with an 18-10 lead with five minutes left
- Adrian Thompson found the back of the net for Lindenwood 30 seconds later
- Vodovnik and Cottage sealed the deal with a goal apiece down the stretch
 
UP NEXT
 
- The Bulldogs advance to Sunday's national quarterfinal matchup in Gaffney, S.C.
- Wingate faces #6 Limestone Sunday at 1 p.m.  
- The winner of that contest advances to the national semifinals
- The Bulldogs defeated Limestone in overtime in the Crown Classic earlier this season