Wingate, N.C. – The Catawba College Men's Lacrosse team was in action on Wednesday night, dropping a tough midweek contest against the No. 8 ranked Wingate Bulldogs at Irwin Belk Stadium by a final score of 19-6. The loss drops Catawba to 6-5 and 3-3 in SAC play, with Wingate now 7-3 overall
- Wingate tallied 47 shots with 29 on goal, while Catawba attempted 25 shots and put 14 on target
- The Bulldogs would also retrieve more ground balls, with 46 to Catawba's 35
- Turnovers were nearly even, with Catawba losing possession 24 times and Wingate giving the ball away 23 times. The Bulldogs would cause more turnovers, however, 17-8
- In goal, Catawba's James Crighton and Tyler Ahlvers combined for 10 saves, but Crighton would fall to 6-5 on the season with the loss. Thomas Sullivan and Quad Williams combined to make eight stops for Wingate, with Sullivan earning the win to move to 6-3
- Frank Cetrone, Jordan Dash, and Garrett Simi each scored a pair of goals
- Jack Butler recorded an assist
- Cetrone's seven shots led the team, with Dash and Simi each attempting four
- Kyle Chessockretrieved six ground balls, while Dash and Javondre Paigeeach recorded four apiece. Bulter would recover three as well
- Eli Horton caused a trio of turnovers, with Kier McKnight forcing two of his own
- Wingate struck first through Jaxon Grant at the 12:53 mark, followed just :16 seconds later by Matt Papach for an early 2-0 lead
- Aidan McMahon added a third before Cetrone would put Catawba on the board for the first time at 7:52
- The Bulldogs would proceed to rip off a 4-0 run after Cetrone's goal, as Papach, Willie Grieco, Danny Riley, and Joey Moran all scored over a 2:25 stretch between 7:11 and 4:46 to give the home side a 7-1 lead heading into the first intermission
- Wingate's offense kept the pressure on in the second frame, with Riley scoring first at 11:54
- The Bulldogs would strike three times over a :41 second span beginning at 8:52, with Grieco, Luke Hickam, and Graham Tillett all finding the back of the net in quick succession
- Joey Moran added Wingate's fifth of the quarter, sending them into the half up 12-1
- Papach would score again to open the second half at 11:04, immediately followed :07 seconds later by Dash as he ended Catawba's scoring drought
- Moran netted again :30 seconds later, followed by Zach Samson as Wingate took a 15-2 lead with 8:42 on the clock
- Simi would score his first goal at 5:33, answered by Moran at 2:58
- The final minute of the quarter would see three goals in just :42 seconds, with Dash and Simi scoring their second goals just :27 seconds apart at :49 and :22, respectively. Sean Clark would find the back of the net for Wingate with :07 seconds before the final intermission, with the Bulldogs taking a 17-5 lead into the fourth quarter
- Cetrone became the third Catawba player to score his second goal of the game, coming at 10:14
- McMahon would score once again for Wingate with 5:22 to go, with Tanner Hegarty adding the final goal of the game with :58 on the board for the final score of 19-6
- Cetrone's pair of goals tied him with Peyton Turner for the team-high in points, with both now at 31 for the season
- It was Cetrone's third-straight game with at least two goals, and his sixth straight game with at least one. He now leads Catawba with seven games having scored multiple goals
- For Dash, this was his third game in the last four with two goals, and his eighth straight game with at least one. He now has five games this season with two or more goals
- For Simi, who has also now scored in eight straight games, Wednesday was his third straight game with at least two goals and his fifth time hitting that mark this season
- Catawba Men's Lacrosse is back in action on Saturday, as they return home to Salisbury to square off against the Anderson Trojans at Shuford Stadium in a matchup set for 12 p.m.
