ANDERSON, S.C.--The No. 2 Trojans (7-1, 1-1) hosted the No. 6 Bulldogs (6-1, 2-0) on Wednesday evening for a Top-10 South Atlantic Conference matchup, and despite a six-goal deficit at halftime, Wingate came back to claim a 19-18 road victory over Anderson.
The game was a tale of two halves, with Anderson winning the first 30 minutes 11-6, before Wingate answered by winning the second 30 minutes 13-7. The margin ended up favoring the visitors by one at the final whistle.
The Trojans opened the game on a 3-0 run with goals from Ryan Bitterman (Alpharetta, Ga.), Brayden Bushnoe (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) and Ryan Butch (Alpharetta, Ga.). Q1 also saw goals from the sticks of Brodie Deutsch (Wilmington, N.C.), Cole Sparks (West Islip, N.Y.) and Garrett Krsul (Lutz, Fla.). The goal was Krsul's first of the season.
Momentum continued to favor the home team moving into Q2, with Radyn Badraun (Mission Viejo, Calif.) finding his first of two goals on the night. The goal marked Badraun's 217th career point—the most by an individual in Anderson program history. Cooper Laughlin (Wooster, Ohio) also got on the scoresheet in the second quarter, adding a pair of goals to the Trojans' lead.
Anderson held a comfortable 11-6 advantage coming out of the break, but Wingate quickly started cutting the deficit, recording two goals in the opening two minutes of the second half. Aiden Dixon (Forest Hill, Md.) answered, going directly to goal from a win at the X and scoring for the Trojans. The Bulldogs then had an answer of their own, tallying three-straight. After more back-and-forth, Q3 ended with AU up 14-13.
Both sides struggled to find a consistent offensive rhythm in the fourth quarter, but after a pattern of scoring and conceding, Wingate ultimately notched the game-winner with 2:29 left on the clock. The Trojans were unable to answer in the closing two minutes, falling 19-18 for their first loss of the season.
The Trojans look to bounce back this Saturday (March 21) on the road at Coker.
