WINGATE, N.C. - Following a pair of first-half goals by the hosts, Anderson University women's soccer suffered its first setback of the 2015 season, falling to South Atlantic Conference rival Wingate, 2-1, Saturday evening at the WU Soccer Complex.

With the loss, the Trojans fall short of tying the best start in program history by a victory and drop to 5-1 on the season and 1-1 in league play, while the Bulldogs remain perfect on the year, improving to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the SAC. Wingate continues its perfect record against AU since the teams became conference foes before the 2010 season, moving to 6-0 in the span.

Despite the setback, the Trojans won the shot battle, 12-11, as three Trojans paced the team with two shots apiece. Newcomers Marie Yasmine Alidou, Idoia Agirre and Megan Foster all tallied two shots, while Alidou was AU's lone goal scorer for the match. Within Anderson's 12 shots for the evening, five were on goal.

"It's disappointing to lost to a solid Wingate side," Anderson head coach Ciaran Traquair said. "However, we out-shot a team who will likely be in the top-25 next week and were probably the better side for the 90 minutes. Two defensive lapses on our end were the difference, but we battled to get back on level terms and were good value on our goal. I'm proud of the girls and it's great to see how close we are."

The Trojans got off to a slow start, as Wingate struck first in the 14th minute of play when Bulldog Kaitlyn Brunworth sent a through ball to the feet of striker Victoria Fichman. With the ball, Fichman beat Anderson goalkeeper Abby Helm to the far corner to open the match's scoring. The goal was Fichman's first of the season.

Wingate extended its lead in the 34th minute of play when a corner kick from AJ Lightbody was sent into the Trojan box. The cross found WU's Gabby Fleischeli in front of goal who pushed a shot past Helm to give the home side their eventual game-winning goal. The goal was Fleischli's first of the season.

Facing their largest deficit of the season, Alidou tried to bring AU back in the 60th minute when freshman Kenzie Van Heusen sent a long cross to the far post and found Alidou all alone in the WU box. With the ball at her feet, Alidou recorded her sixth goal of the season and has now scored in three straight matches.

Anderson attempted to even the match in the final 30 minutes, recording four shots following the goal, but could not find its equalizer. Wingate goalkeeper Alexis Jones grabbed a match-high five saves in the winning effort, while Helm suffers her first loss in goal, making three stops.

Fichman led the Bulldogs with four of the team's 11 shots, as two shots were on goal. Teammate Brooke Howell followed with a pair of shots.

The Trojans return to the pitch on Wednesday when they hit the road to SAC foe Brevard for their second leg of a four-match road trip. Kick-off is slated for 2 p.m.