Second-Seeded Wingate Wins 2017 South Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship

FINAL BRACKET 

Charlotte, N.C.----Wingate University sophomore attack Alex Llerandi (Marietta, Ga.) scored the game-winner with 48 seconds remaining in the first overtime, lifting the number 11 Bulldogs to an 11-10 South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse tournament championship game triumph over Queens University of Charlotte on the Dickson Field at the Queens Sports Complex Saturday. WU all-time leading scorer and senior attack Austin Murphy (Orillia, Ontario) had the assist on the golden goal.

Wingate is 13-3 overall with the victory, adding to its school-record win total. The SAC title is the first for the Bulldog men's lacrosse program in its first SAC championship game appearance. Wingate won the Deep South Conference tournament crown in 2007. The number two seed Bulldogs avenge a tough 9-8 loss to the number four seed Queens Royals on the same field March 29. Queens concludes its 2017 season with a 10-7 overall ledger.

"This season has been a great ride," Wingate head men's lacrosse coach Tim Boyle says. "To be able to lead these young men has been an honor for the staff. They dealt with adversity and challenges with a whole new staff coming in and they handled it with strong character and maturity."

In the first overtime, Queens senior specialist Jonathan Paige (New Market, Md.) won the opening face-off for his 16th victory of the contest. The Royals turned the ball over and Wingate junior goalkeeper and SAC tournament MVP Will Sheridan (Woodstock, Ga.) collected the loose ball.

After a Bulldog time-out at the 2:24 mark, Wingate worked the clock for the best shot. Murphy found Llerandi on the left side and Wingate's top 2017 goal scorer found the back of the nets for the 31st time this season to give the Navy Blue and Vegas Gold-clad Bulldogs their championship moment. The OT helper was Murphy's 42nd assist of the 2017 campaign.

Llerandi and senior attack Tanner Kotch (Butler, Pa.) led Wingate with four points each. Llerandi had three goals and one assist, while Kotch recorded one goal and three helpers. Bulldog redshirt senior attack Ryan Vogrig (Vancouver, B.C.) and junior attack Jeremy Sullivan (Crofton, Md.) posted three points each with identical two goal/one assist stat ledgers. Murphy had one goal and two assists.

For Queens, freshman attack Duncan Smith (Chittenango, N.Y.) had three goals. Junior attack Nick Sawyer (Charlotte, N.C.) topped the Royals' point charts with five (two goals, three assists). Freshman midfielder Laszlo Henning (Calgary, Alberta) had one goal and two assists.

Sawyer had one goal and two assists as the Royals bolted to a 4-1 lead after the first 15 minutes of play. Queens freshman attack Justin Swick (Easton, Pa.) completed the first quarter scoring with an unassisted goal at the 3:28 mark. Llerandi had Wingate's only score of the first frame.

The Bulldogs scored the first three goals of the second stanza to tie the game 4-4 on a Vogrig score (Murphy assist) with 11:22 to go. Queens freshman midfielder Eric Fitz (Raleigh, N.C.) put the Royals back in front six minutes later, thanks to a Sawyer assist. Kotch scored an unassisted goal with two seconds left in the opening half, tying the score 5-5 at intermission.

The Kotch tally started a 4-0 run for the Bulldogs, spanning both the second and third quarters. Sullivan scored twice in the flurry (11:59, 8:00), both on Kotch assists. Murphy's EMO goal (on a Sullivan helper) concluded the run, making the score 8-5 Wingate with 6:28 left in the third.

Queens scored five of the next six goals to take a 10-9 lead on back-to-back fourth quarter scores from Smith (14:45, 10:02) to take a 10-9 lead with 10 minutes to play in regulation. Four minutes later, Vogrig tied the score 10-10 on a Kotch assist to complete the second half scoring.

Both Sheridan and Queens freshman goalie Anthony Valenza (Mt. Airy, Md.) played the entire 63 minutes and change in their respective cages. One of five first team All-SAC performers for Wingate, Sheridan had 11 saves. He made his final save with 15 seconds left in regulation, stopping a close-range shot by Royals senior midfielder Nick Carlson (Lusby, Md.). Valenza had eight saves for the tournament hosts.

"We knew this game was going to be a battle...and it lived up to this," Boyle says. "We had our ups and downs during the game, but we never stopped believing in the system and each other. The coaching staff is so happy for this senior class...they deserve this memory and this championship."

The 2017 SAC Men's Lacrosse Championship All-Tournament Team is listed below.

All-Tournament Team
Will Sheridan- Wingate (MVP)
Alex Llerandi- Wingate
Drew Thompson- Wingate
Vinny Aiello- Wingate
Sean Moran- Wingate
Justin Swick- Queens
Jonathan Paige- Queens
Anthony Valenza- Queens 
Collin Lett- LR
Kevin Haggerty- Tusculum