MATTHEWS, N.C.--The 2025 South Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship was moved forward from 4 PM to 2 PM on Saturday afternoon in hopes of beating out the poor weather forecast at the Matthews Sportsplex. The preventative efforts were to no avail, however, as immediately following team starting lineup announcements and the National Anthem, a lightning delay went into effect.
After almost two hours, the two-seeded No. 7 Trojans and the five-seeded No. 10 Bulldogs were cleared to return to the field for warm-ups. The game started approximately at its original start time.
The contest started off slow offensively for the Black and Gold, as the Trojans tallied only six of what would be 46 shots in the opening quarter. Anderson did find the first goal of the game, however, with Diego Lopez (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) securing just his second goal of the season to put the Trojans on the board. The lead was short-lived, though, as the Bulldogs quickly snagged four in a row to round out the opening fifteen minutes with a three-goal lead.
Q2 started with Radyn Badraun (Mission Viejo, Calif.) finding his first of five goals on the afternoon, taking advantage of a man-up opportunity and scoring off a pass from Ryan Bitterman (Alpharetta, Ga.). Wingate then tallied three more, before the Badraun and Bitterman duo did it again, cutting the score to 7-3. With eight minutes left in the second quarter, another weather delay halted the game.
After another hour of tumultuous weather, the game resumed with Wingate finding one quick, before a third goal from Badraun and a pair of goals from Matthew Rodgers (Carmel, Ind.) cut the Bulldog lead to 8-6. The second quarter ended with both sides notching six goals apiece for a halftime score of 10-7.
The final two quarters of the game saw the Trojans record 26 shots, good for only four second-half goals, a discrepancy that would ultimately prove fateful. Wingate pulled off a 17-11 victory to claim the SAC title.
The Bulldogs outshot the Trojans 52 to 46, with 30 of those coming on frame compared to Anderson's 23. Anderson won the stat comparison for faceoffs, winning 17 of 30, and groundballs, collecting 48 to Wingate's 35. The turnover margin favored the Bulldogs, with AU committing 21 to WU's 18.
Anderson's Badraun, Lopez and Rodgers were named to the 2025 SAC All-Tournament Team for their performances against Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate.
The Trojans now look to tomorrow night's 2025 DII Men's Lacrosse Championship NCAA Selection Show to see if their historical season was enough for the committee to award the Black and Gold an at-large bid to the national tournament. The show will begin at 7:30 PM and be streamed on NCAA.com.
