BARBOURVILLE, Ky. -- The 12th-ranked Wingate Bulldogs (8-0, 5-0 SAC) took advantage of two defensive lapses by the Lady Railsplitters (3-3-3, 1-2-2 SAC) to score a 2-0 victory in South Atlantic Conference women's soccer action on Sunday at Union College's Williamson Stadium.
 
The Bulldogs controlled possession for most of the first half but were kept in check until a misplayed kick opened the door for a scoring opportunity. Caileigh Apicella fired a shot on goal in the 34th minute, but LMU keeper Kathryn Lundy (Pinckney, Mich.) made the save. However, she mishit her clearance, which was recovered by Wingate's Kaitlyn Brunworth in open space. She promptly blasted in her uncontested shot from 30 yards out.
 
The Lady Railsplitters trailed 1-0 at the break but came out with renewed vigor in the second stanza, flipping the possession battle and holding the ball on their side of the field early. That forward push helped produce quality shots for Maddy Nagy (Viera, Fla.) and Claire Leasure (Franklin, Tenn.), which both narrowly missed knotting the match.
 
The Bulldogs worked their back onto their offensive end in the 63rd minute and eventually put the ball in the box. After multiple attempts to do so, Lincoln Memorial was unable to clear the ball out of the box in the ensuing scuffle before it was deflected up in the air with Kayla Stephens (Keller, Texas), newly entered in the match, stuck out of position. Kimmi Moore then capitalized on that chance and deposited the goal to increase Wingate's lead to 2-0.
 
Wingate finished with a 13-10 advantage on shot attempts with a 7-2 edge on shots on goal. The Lady Railsplitters' best chances came late in regulation, as Madison Rivard (Roanoke, Texas) put one on goal in the 77th minute and Kelsey Stafford (Pompano Beach, Fla.) hit the crossbar in the 82nd minute.
 
Caroline Souza (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Stafford and Leasure led the Lady Railsplitters with two shots apiece.
 
Lundy made one save and allowed a goal over 59 minutes of action, while Stephens stopped three shots and relinquished a goal over the last 31 minutes of the match.    
 
Alexis Jones picked up the win for the Bulldogs with two saves in 90 minutes. Taylor Leyble led all players with three shot attempts.
 
Lincoln Memorial fell to Wingate for the 10th straight time since 2008 and slipped to 3-11 in the all-time series.  
 
Next up, the Lady Railsplitters host the Carson-Newman Eagles in SAC action at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.