WINGATE, N.C. – Women's Lacrosse (5-4, 2-0 South Atlantic Conference) made the voyage to Wingate, North Carolina, to take on the Bulldogs (7-2, 3-0 SAC) in the team's first conference matchup in almost a month (a 16-8 win against the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters on March 4). The Wolves have dropped their last two matches, albeit on the road, to Flagler College and Florida Tech, so the Bulldogs will almost certainly be getting the best shot of the Wolves to avoid making it three in a row. With both teams undefeated in the SAC, the battle of the number one and three teams looked to be a highly contested one.
The game started off quickly for the Bulldogs, as Danielle Scarfogliero opened the scoring for the game at 11:33 in the first quarter. Four turnovers from both teams made holding onto possession a difficult task, but Serena Elias (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) capitalized on a fast break after the initial shot from Emma Jobs (Sherwood Park, Alberta) was saved to tie the game. Wingate responded with a goal two minutes later from Leah Knowles before Scarfogliero added her second to make it a two goal game. Three shots from the Wolves would be saved before the second quarter commenced.
Turnovers once again plagued both teams as three from Newberry and two from Wingate showed that both defenses were causing problems for the offenses. Five minutes came off the clock before a goal was scored by Wingate at 9:43 by Nelinda Watson, but the Wolves were able to cut the lead of the Bulldogs to one after Elias completed her hat trick with under seven minutes left. A yellow card from Ella Todd (Maple Ridge, Canada) shifted the momentum towards the hosts, as goals from Paige Kamer and Leah Knowles' second put the Bulldogs back up three. Cassell Richardson (Forest, Va.) cut it back to two with a goal of her own, but not before Wingate proceeded to score three quick goals in succession to take a 9-4 halftime lead.
Newberry came out of the halftime break firing with two quick shots, and after a Wingate turnover, Marissa Plumer (Kent Island, Md.) got the Wolves going with her goal, assisted by Jenny Bates (Sherwood Park, Alberta). The Bulldogs got their first two goals of the half with under eight minutes to play in the third, but Elias would not be denied a fourth goal at the 5:19 mark. Wingate took control for the rest of the period with three goals heading into the fourth quarter.
Just like the third quarter, the Wolves set the tone for the quarter by firing in goals quickly. Emma Jobs got the scoring started, followed by a second from the free position from Plumer, but it was all Bulldogs for the rest of the way with a goal from Kaleigh Wilgeroth to start the scoring for the home team. Three goals were then scored by Bella Pellet, Scarfogliero, and Pellet again to cap off another tough road loss for the Wolves.
Looking ahead to the next matchup for the Wolves, they will return home to Setzler Field in Newberry for their date with the Cavaliers from UVA Wise on March 25. The festivities will kick off at 4 PM.
