HARROGATE, Tenn. – Another challenge awaits the Lincoln Memorial University women's lacrosse team (0-3, 0-2 SAC) on Wednesday as the program continues the hunt for its first win in a South Atlantic Conference battle against the Wingate Bulldogs (4-3, 1-1 SAC) at the Rocky Top Sports World in Gatlinburg, Tenn. First draw control is set for 2 p.m.
 
The Lady Railsplitters have finished on the losing end of all three matches in their first year of competition, but there were a number of bright spots in Monday's 24-5 loss to Lawrence Tech. Lincoln Memorial combined for just five goals and 12 shots in its matches against Lenoir-Rhyne and Coker, but either matched or exceeded those marks on Monday, scoring a season-high five goals on 14 shot attempts.
 
Freshman Bre'Asia James (Vero Beach, Fla.) registered the first hat trick in the short history of the women's lacrosse program, bringing her team-high season total to six. James has tallied at least one goal in all three matches this season.
 
Like James, Autumn Beddington (Newburgh, Ind.) has scored a goal in all three games for the Lady Railsplitters, ranking second on the team with three total goals. Stacey Dotson (Huntsville, Ala.) became the first player not named James or Beddington to score for Lincoln Memorial this season in that match against Lawrence Tech, hitting the nylon just two minutes into the match.
 
Freshman goalkeeper Shannon Novak (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.) has been forced to absorb a tremendous amount of pressure through her first three starts in the Blue and Gray, facing 129 shots over that span. She has made 39 saves and allowed 61 goals while spending all 180 minutes in net.
 
Novak and company are likely to face heavy pressure again in Wednesday's match, as Wingate leads the South Atlantic Conference in total shots with 210 attempts. The Bulldogs also lead the league in goals (98), ground balls (258) and draw controls (102), which is mostly a product of playing more games than any other team in the SAC.
 
It's been a strange season up to this point for the Bulldogs, who dropped two early games to Savannah College of Art & Design and Belmont Abbey, and followed that up with commanding victories over Erskine, Brevard and St. Andrews. The strangest result of the season is likely the most recent one, though, as Wingate suffered a 16-11 setback to Tusculum - who is in the midst of its first season of women's lacrosse - on Saturday.  
 
In that loss to Tusculum, Wingate watched as the Pioneers opened up with a 5-1 run through the first 13 minutes and could never recover. The Bulldogs chopped the deficit back to 5-4 with a three-goal flurry, but Tusculum accounted for five of the last six goals of the half. The deficit was never fewer than five in the second stanza. The Bulldogs lost despite mustering a 32-29 shot advantage and scooping up 45 ground balls.
 
The Bulldogs are paced offensively by sophomore Brittany Andrews, who has poured in 18 goals on only 30 shot attempts and added five assists. Freshman Jaclyn Chiesa has tallied 13 goals and six assists while earning a team-leading 29 draw controls. Chiesa has also scooped up 27 ground balls. Logan Bounds has accounted for a team-high seven assists and 10 goals, while Emily Nosek and Erin Murphy have 14 and 13 goals, respectively.
 
Nicole Hinkle or Paulena Dempsey is likely the start at goalkeeper for the Bulldogs. Hinkle started the first five games for Wingate, but she hasn't appeared in the past two matches. She has allowed 61 goals and made 37 saves in a hair over 305 minutes. Dempsey has allowed 23 goals with 12 saves in 90 minutes of action.
 
First draw control is set for 2 p.m. in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Live stats will be available through www.LMURailsplitters.com.

Live Stats