MATTHEWS, N.C. - The Lenoir-Rhyne women's lacrosse team came up just short on Sunday, falling 11-9 to Wingate in the SAC Championship game.
The Bears made a push and led 7-6 after three, but five straight goals from the Bulldogs to open the fourth propelled them to the title.
This was Lenoir-Rhyne's third appearance in the SAC Championship game and their first since 2019.
Kirra Olson led the team with four points, coming off three goals and an assist.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: (1) Wingate 11, (2) Lenoir-Rhyne 9
Records: #16 Wingate (16-3), Lenoir-Rhyne (11-7)
Location: Matthews, N.C. | Matthews Sportsplex
STORY OF THE GAME:
- Tied at 2-2, Wingate went on a 3-0 run in the second quarter to go up 5-2.
- Jillian Daley scored with 10 second left in the half and the Bears saw themselves down just 6-5 at the break.
- Kirra Olson and Anneleise Meyer scored the only goals of the third quarter and Lenoir-Rhyne led 7-6 after three.
- Wingate scored five unanswered goals to open the fourth, winning five out of six draw controls.
- Olson and Hannah Thomas scored two late goals for the Bears to give the game its final score.
STATS OF THE GAME:
- Kirra Olson led the Bears with three goals while Abbey Walker had three assists.
- Sally Friesen made 10 saves in the loss.
- Wingate out shot the Bears 31-25 and led 21-16 in shots-on-goal.
- Wingate led 14-7 in draw controls.
- The Bears forced 18 Bulldog turnovers while committing 15 themselves.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- Lenior-Rhyne set a new school record with nine conference victories and tied the record with seven consecutive wins.
- Kirra Olson will finish her career with the third most goals in program history at 142.
- Sally Friesen is third all-time in both wins and saves.
- With their win today Wingate earns the SAC's automatic big to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
