CHARLOTTE, NC - Facing #5 Wingate at the prestigious Crown Classic in Charlotte, the Bears used lockdown defense and a six-goal outburst from Donovan Powell to take down the Bulldogs 9-6. 

The Bears, who have arguably the toughest start to a schedule in DII, are now 5-0 after taking down four top-15 teams.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final:  #3 Lenoir-Rhyne 9 , #5 Wingate 6
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (5-0, 1-0 SAC), Wingate (4-1, 0-1 SAC)
Location: Charlotte, N.C. | American Legion Memorial Stadium

STORY OF THE GAME

• The Bears took control early, as two goals from Donovan Powell and one from Robert Walker put LR up 3-1 after one quarter of play.
• Wingate outscored Lenoir-Rhyne 3-2 in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 5-4 at the break.
• Lenoir-Rhyne took advantage of an early man-up situation in the third, as Powell and Walker quickly scored two goals to put LR up 7-4.
• Powell scored the fourth quarter's only goal with 13 minutes left in the game as the Bears held on for the 9-6 win.

STATS OF THE GAME

• Donovan Powell tied his season-high with six goals.
• The Bears defense was dominant, holding Wingate without a goal for the final 23 minutes of play.
• Nick Floyd got the start and made nine saves in goal.
• Matthew Mancini was 10-15 on face offs.

BEYOND THE STATS

• The Bears are now 13-7 all-time against Wingate and have won seven of the last eight meetings.
• Donovan Powell's four goals per game ranks ninth in DII.
• This is the Bears second consecutive 5-0 start.
• Lenoir-Rhyne ranks first in DII in caused turnovers per game (11.4).

UP NEXT: The Bears will travel to (RV) Anderson next Saturday for their first true road game in exactly a month. The Trojans are 3-2 and took down Emory & Henry 31-3 yesterday. The game is scheduled to start at 12 p.m.