HARROGATE, Tenn. – The 19th-ranked Wingate Bulldogs (5-2, 2-1 SAC) opened on a 5-0 run and closed with a 4-0 flurry to hand the Railsplitters (4-4, 0-2 SAC) a 14-7 loss in their South Atlantic Conference home opener on Sunday at the LMU Soccer Complex. Wingate nearly doubled up Lincoln Memorial in total shots, as the Railsplitters were outshot 48-28 to lose their third straight match.
Robert Tucker (Wantagh, N.Y.) led the Railsplitters with three goals on seven shots, while
Kyle Arcuri (Patchogue, N.Y.) tallied two goals on three shot attempts.
Adam Golia (Victoria, British Columbia) and Billy Kospky (Smithtown, N.Y.) added a goal apiece, while Golia was limited to a season-low one shot attempt.
Dylan Neisler (Detroit, Mich.) fired off six shots, but went scoreless in the contest.
Senior goalie
Joe Medel (Virginia Beach, Va.) faced 28 shots on goal, matching his second-highest total of the season, and made 14 saves while allowing 14 goals to fall to 4-3 on the season.
Daniel Godwin led the Bulldog attack with four goals on six shots and five shots on goal, while Jeremy Sullivan had two goals, one assist, 10 shots and seven shots on goal. Tanner Kotch also finished with two goals and an assist, while Alex Llerandi produced two goals on nine shots and five shots on goal. Austin Murphy accounted for seven of Wingate's 10 assists as a team and added a goal on nine shots and three shots on goal.
Michael Connor and Will Sheridan combined for the victory in net for the Bulldogs. Connor made five saves and allowed three goals over 34 minutes of action, while Sheridan recorded four saves and relinquished four goals in 26 minutes.
The Bulldogs started fast, as Godwin scored twice in the first seven minutes, while Sullivan and Kotch followed with goals to put Wingate out to a commanding 4-0 lead later in the first quarter. Godwin netted his third goal of the quarter with 2:10 left to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 5-0.
Arcuri halted that run and put the Railsplitters in the scoring column with an unassisted goal with 30 ticks left in the first, and Kopsky and Tucker scored a goal apiece midway through the second to trim Wingate's lead to 6-3. However, a goal from Llerandi (1:09) and Kotch (0:45) sent the Bulldogs into the break with an 8-3 lead.
The Bulldogs put two more goals on the board early in the third quarter to push ahead 10-3, which proved to be the final deficit. Tucker scored twice, while Golia and Arcuri chipped in goals during a 4-0 LMU run that bled into the fourth quarter and cut Wingate's lead to 10-7. However, the Bulldogs held the Railsplitters scoreless for the final 12 minutes and ended on a 4-0 run to close out the 14-7 win.
The Railsplitters got the better of the Bulldogs at the face-off x, winning 14 of the match's 25 face-offs. Lincoln Memorial also accounted for a 31-28 advantage in groundball recoveries.
Hunter Clark (Marietta, Ga.) led all players in the match with eight groundball pickups.
The shot disparity was ultimately too much to overcome for the Railsplitters, as the Bulldogs outshot the home team by 20, including an 18-4 edge in the first and a 10-8 advantage in the fourth.
The Railsplitters look to snap their three-game losing streak on Saturday, March 25 when they host the Queens Royals in SAC action at 3:30 p.m. at the LMU Lacrosse Complex.
