Charlotte, N.C.----The 10th-ranked Florida Southern College Mocs utilized an 8-1 second period to pull away from the 19th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Tournament on Friday at Queens University. The Mocs advance to Sunday's regional final and improve to 16-3 overall on the season, while the historic season for the Bulldogs ends with an overall record of 15-4.
 
KEY STATS
 
- Florida Southern out-shot Wingate 35-19
- The Mocs held a 25-11 advantage in shots on goal
- WU had 15 of the 27 turnovers in the contest
- FSC was a perfect 18-for-18 on clear attempts; the Bulldogs were 12-of-16
- The Mocs held a 17-14 edge in ground balls
- Florida Southern won 20 of 28 draw controls
 
KEY BULLDOGS
 
- Paige Kamer led the 'Dogs with two goals and two assists
- Becca Ruiz added a goal with two ground balls, two draw controls and a caused turnover
- Bella Pellet chipped in a goal, two ground balls and a CT
- Leah Knowles dished out an assist and had a team-high six draw controls
- Nelida Watson and Danielle Scarfogliero found the back of the net for the 'Dogs
- Emma Pike recorded three ground balls and three caused turnovers
- Megan Biase made six saves and collected three ground balls
 
NOTES
 
- Friday marked Wingate's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance
- The Bulldogs wrapped up the 2022 campaign with a program-record 15 wins
- Knowles and Abby Wiley won South Atlantic Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively
- The 'Dogs made their second-ever appearance in the SAC title game
- Knowles and Ruiz became the first-ever All-Americans in program history, named a Third-Team and Honorable Mention selection, respectively
- The two also appeared on the IWLCA All-Region teams
- Knowles set single-season program records with 89 points, 90 draw controls and 48 caused turnovers
 
FIRST PERIOD
 
- Florida Southern opened the scoring with back-to-back goals from Madison Tare and Katie Yeagle, leading 2-0 after the first four minutes
- The Bulldogs got on the board at the 9:11 mark, as Watson scored off a Kamer assist
- FSC responded with two more scores, taking a 4-1 lead with five minutes to go
- Kamer answered with her 20th goal of the season
- The Mocs returned their lead to three with a score from Hailey Daleo
- Pellet added another WU goal before end of the period, as the Mocs led 5-3 after the first
 
SECOND PERIOD
 
- Florida Southern scored the first three goals of the second period to take an 8-3 lead
- Scarfogliero stopped the run with a goal off a loose ball with just over seven minutes to go
- The Mocs added five more goals the rest of the period, leading 13-4 at the break
 
THIRD PERIOD
 
- Brenna Smith gave the Mocs a 10-goal lead three minutes into the second half
- Kamer fought back with an unassisted goal with five and a half minutes left
- FSC's Ellie Griffin chipped in another score, as the Mocs led 15-5 with one frame to go
 
FOURTH PERIOD
 
- Two Florida Southern goals to start the fourth made it 17-5
- Ruiz scored her 45th goal of the season with less than eight minutes to go
- The Mocs added two more scores down the stretch