SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wingate rallied from a two-goal second-half deficit to snap Lincoln Memorial's eight-game winning streak and hand the Railsplitters their first South Atlantic Conference loss of the season 12-11 on Saturday afternoon in Wingate, N.C. 
 
In a back-and-forth match that saw seven combined ties and neither team establish a lead larger than two goals, the Bulldogs (5-5, 3-1 SAC) took the lead for good with a five-goal third quarter and held off the Railsplitters (10-2, 4-1 SAC) down the stretch to deal Lincoln Memorial its first loss since February 10. 
 
Five different players produced two points for the Railsplitters. Robert Tucker and Reggie Golfin led the way with two goals apiece, while Dylan Neisler, Kyle Arcuri and Adam Golia had a goal and an assist apiece. The two points were the fewest of the season for Golia, who entered the match leading the SAC in total points. Four other players also produced a goal in the match for the Railsplitters. 
 
Seth Grimwood led the Wingate attack with a game-high five points on three goals and two assists. Conor Gronbach added two goals and an assist, while Josh Ferentinos had a goal and two assists. Jeremy Sullivan provided a pair of goals as well. 
 
Wingate was able to snap the Railsplitters' program-record eight-game winning streak largely because of a dominant performance at the faceoff x, where the Bulldogs went 19-for-26. Wyatt Weiseman took part in all 19 of those faceoff wins. Hunter Clark led the Railsplitters with all seven of their faceoff wins. 
 
The Bulldogs also narrowly outshot the Railsplitters 31-30 and finished with a 34-22 edge in groundball pickups.  
 
The Railsplitters and Bulldogs went goal for goal throughout most of the opening quarter. Grimwood put Wingate in front 48 seconds into the match before Anthony Teresky responded less than a minute later. The Bulldogs reclaimed the lead on a goal from Sullivan with 11:23 on the clock but a dish from Neisler set Arcuri up for the equalizer at the 9:26 mark. 
 
Lincoln Memorial and Wingate again traded goals just over a minute apart later in the quarter, with Bobby Padden scoring for the Bulldogs and Khanan Bodley answering for the Railsplitters. However, Wingate took a 4-3 lead into the second quarter on the strength of Ryan Ormerod's goal with 2:17 left. 
 
After controlling possession for most of the first quarter, Wingate kept it going early in the second quarter and pushed the lead to 5-3 - its largest of the half - on a goal by Ferentinos with 12:56 on the clock. 
 
But the Railsplitters settled into their offensive zone for the remainder of the quarter, using a 3-0 run to take their first lead of the match. Neisler kicked off that flurry at the 12:15 mark to end a nearly eight-minute scoring drought for Lincoln Memorial. A man-up goal from Robert Tucker at 7:30 knotted it up before Golfin fired a rocket into the back of the net to give the Railsplitters the lead with 5:16 left in the half.
 
The Railsplitters were forced to go back on the defensive late in the second quarter as Chris Tucker was called for three separate penalties and had to serve two minutes in the penalty box. But Lincoln Memorial held down the fort and actually had a shot to extend its lead just before the half ended. Tucker's shot went wide left, though, to send the Railsplitters into the break with a 6-5 lead. 
 
After the two teams combined for 11 goals in the entire first half, the match opened up in the bonkers third quarter. The Railsplitters took their largest lead of the match at 7-5 on a goal from Golia at the 13:13 mark but Wingate tallied three unanswered goals to take the lead. Grimwood capped that run at the 9:51 mark to put the Bulldogs ahead 8-7. 
 
Golfin stopped the bleeding and tied the match back up with his second goal of the day just 30 seconds later, but goals from Grimwood and Gronbach gave Wingate another two-goal lead at 10-8 midway through the third frame. 
 
The Railsplitters quieted things down over the closing stretch of the quarter and chopped the Bulldogs' lead down to one on a goal from Robert Tucker with 4:15 left, which proved to be the final score of the quarter. 
 
Lincoln Memorial then tied the game for the seventh and final time with 12:42 left in the fourth quarter on a goal from Jared Courchene, but the Bulldogs again asserted control as Sullivan scored at 11:15 and Alex Llerandi extended the lead back to two at the 7:46 mark. 
 
The Railsplitters couldn't get anything going over the next passage of play until Chris Tucker took the ball all the way down the field and scored to cut the deficit to 12-11 with 2:49 left. 
 
Wingate won the ensuing faceoff and burned nearly two minutes off the clock before a Bulldog turnover and groundball pickup by Kairos Bodley put the Railsplitters back in their offensive zone with a chance to tie it late. Lincoln Memorial fired off two quality looks at the game-tying goal but Wingate goalie Jacob Ormerod stopped attempts from Billy Kopsky and Neisler in the final 50 seconds to preserve the victory. 
 
Freshman goalie Michael Kessler allowed all 12 goals – his most since a 14-13 win over Queens on March 17 – and recorded six saves to see his personal eight-game winning streak end. 
 
The Railsplitters will try to rebound on Saturday, April 7 when they conclude their three-game road trip with a matchup at No. 3 nationally ranked and SAC leading Lenoir-Rhyne.