Hickory, N.C.----The eighth-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs scored 10 of the first 12 goals Wednesday night, picking up a huge 16-10 victory at #4 Lenoir-Rhyne University in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse action. Wingate wins its eighth straight, improving to 9-1 overall and 7-0 in the SAC. The Bears fall to 8-2 overall and 3-1 in league play. The 'Dogs are now the only team without a SAC loss this season.

KEY STATS

- Lenoir-Rhyne out-shot Wingate 53-37
- The Bears held a 28-22 advantage in shots on goal
- The Bulldogs committed 17 of the 30 turnovers
- WU converted 16-of-24 clear attempts; LR was 14-for-21
- Wingate won 16 of the 28 face-offs
- Lenoir-Rhyne held a 35-25 advantage in ground balls

KEY BULLDOGS

- Johnny Caponi piled up 18 saves on the night, adding a pair of ground balls
- Willie Grieco had four goals and five assists to lead the offense
- Joey Moran had four goals and an assist
- Danny Riley added two goals and three assists
- Daman Lingasin and Aidan McMahon contributed two goals apiece
- Marc Cottage registered a goal and an assist
- Kyle Spence added a goal and a pair of ground balls
- Peyton Farley and Jaxon Grant each collected a pair of caused turnovers
- James Kotcamp won 16-of-26 face-offs, picking up six ground balls
- Johnny Salamone added four ground balls; Trent Connolly had three ground balls

FIRST PERIOD

- Cottage got the scoring started just over a minute in off a Riley assist
- McMahon scored off a Grieco assist to make it 2-0 at the 12:21 mark
- LR scored twice in a 34-second span, tying it at two on a Jarrett Huff goal with 11 minutes left
- The 'Dogs scored the next eight goals of the game, including six straight to end the period
- Lingasin scored off a Grieco assist with 10:09 to go to put the Bulldogs on top 3-2
- Moran started a stretch of three goals in 90 seconds with 6:50 remaining
- Riley scored off a Cottage assist, while a Grieco goal with 5:20 left made it 6-2
- Grieco struck again at the 2:57 mark to push the lead to five
- McMahon capped the scoring in the frame with 33 seconds left, off a Grieco assist to make it 8-2

SECOND PERIOD

- Riley scored five minutes into the second frame to extend the WU run
- Spence scored off a Moran assist with four minutes left to put the 'Dogs on top 10-2
- The Bears ended their 23-minute scoreless drought when Tommy Aguilar scored with 3:19 left

THIRD PERIOD

- Moran scored off a Grieco assist two minutes into the second half to make it 11-3
- Goals from Myles Moffat and Will Canata cut the lead to six with 2:25 remaining
- The Bulldogs led 11-5 heading to the final frame

FOURTH PERIOD

- Moran scored off a Riley assist two minutes into the final frame to push the lead back to seven
- Aguilar cut it back to six with a goal, but Lingasin responded 30 seconds later off a Riley assist to make it 13-6
- Aguilar scored again, but Moran answered off a Grieco assist at the 10:53 mark
- Toron Eccleston scored with nine minute left to pull LR within five
- Grieco found the back of the net with 7:24 to go to give WU a 15-9 advantage
- Grieco capped the scoring on the night with 2:09 remaining, making the final margin 16-10

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action next Saturday, April 8, hosting Anderson at 12 p.m.