Wingate, N.C.----The top-seeded and 10th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs are onto the SAC Tournament semifinals after prevailing 1-0 against eighth-seeded Carson-Newman University in the opening round of the 2023 South Atlantic Conference men's soccer tournament at Pride Park. The regular season SAC champion Bulldogs improve to 11-3-2 overall, pushing their unbeaten streak to nine matches. The Eagles fall to 5-7-5 on the season.

KEY STATS

- Wingate out-shot Carson-Newman 12-8
- The Bulldogs held a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal
- The Eagles took five of the nine corner kicks
- Carson-Newman was called for 12 of the 23 fouls on the day
- The Eagles were also booked for three of the four cards

KEY BULLDOGS

- Zach Panagiotou scored the Wingate goal
- Pedro Santos notched the assist
- Marcus Munby collected three saves to register the shutout
- Kosi Mafela led the 'Dogs with three shots, including two shots on goal

FIRST HALF

- Wingate struck in the 26th minute
- Panagiotou lined home his second goal of the season off the Santos assist
- The 'Dogs took the 1-0 lead into halftime

SECOND HALF

- Wingate took eight of the 13 shots in the final 45 minutes
- C-N put three shots on goal, but Munby turned away all three
- The best chance for the Eagles came in the 54th minute
- A shot from Harry Whitehead heading towards the top of the goal was deflected over the crossbar by Munby
- He added one final save in the 70th minute to keep the clean sheet

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action Friday at the SAC Tournament semifinals at the Matthews Sportsplex
- The Bulldogs will face fourth-seeded Lincoln Memorial Friday at 5 p.m.
- The Railsplitters defeated Anderson 3-1 Saturday afternoon
- Wingate and LMU played to a 2-2 draw last month
- The winner of the contest advances to the SAC title match Sunday at 4 p.m. in Matthews