WINGATE, N.C. -- The Lady Railsplitters (9-4-2, 7-2-2 SAC) closed out the regular season Sunday in Wingate, N.C., suffering a 3-0 setback at the hands of the Wingate Bulldogs (10-2-3, 9-1-1 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference women's soccer action. Lincoln Memorial fell short in its quest for a SAC runner-up finish, instead settling for the No.4 seed. The Lady Railsplitters welcome fifth-seeded Catawba to the LMU Soccer Complex Tuesday at 2 p.m. for the quarterfinals of the SAC Championship.
 
The Bulldogs were staked to an early 1-0 lead as Taylor Leyble used an assist from Naomi Matley to scoot the ball past the hard-charging Kayla Stephens (Keller, Texas) in the 14th minute of play.
 
The Lady Railsplitters looked for the equalizer and nearly found it on two separate occasions. Junior Maddy Nagy fired a shot in the 38th minute that was turned away by Wingate keeper Ashlyn Hardie, while senior Nicole McKinney (Ooltewah, Tenn.) directed a shot between the frames in the 52nd minute that was also corralled by Hardie.
 
Lincoln Memorial would register only one more shot on goal over the final 38 minutes of regulation, while Wingate's back-to-back South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year Jade Montgomery scored twice to propel the Bulldogs to victory. Matley found Montgomery in the 56th minute to double the lead to 2-0, while a lead pass from Brooke Howell set up Montgomery's second goal of the match in the 75th minute.
 
With the two-goal flurry, Montgomery claimed the outright SAC scoring title for the third consecutive season as the senior closed out the regular season with 15 goals.
 
The Lady Railsplitters were outshot 18-7 in the contest while the Bulldogs amassed a 12-3 shots on goal edge. Nagy paced Lincoln Memorial with three shots and two shots on goal. McKinney pitched in two attempts, while Kadie Soall (Tecumseh, Ontario) and Fernanda Miaci (Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil) each contributed a single shot apiece.
 
LMU keeper Kayla Stephens concluded the match with a career-best nine saves.
 
The fourth-seeded Lady Railsplitters drew fifth-seeded Catawba for their quarterfinal round match-up of the SAC Championship, which is set to be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at the LMU Soccer Complex. The winner of that match advances to the semifinal round, where the winner of top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne and No.8 Anderson awaits in Rock Hill, S.C. The Lady Railsplitters and Catawba Indians played to a 1-1 stalemate in Salisbury, N.C. on October 25.