Wingate, Anderson Earn Bids To NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Wingate University men's soccer team will host the Trojans of Anderson (S.C.) University in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional tournament Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m. The Bulldogs earn the fourth seed in the tournament, while Anderson is the number five seed.

The 2010 South Atlantic Conference regular season co-champions, Wingate enters the NCAA play-offs with 15-3 overall ledger.

Anderson is 14-5-1 overall. The Trojans won the 2010 Food Lion SAC tournament Sunday with a 3-2 victory over Mars Hill College. The Trojans ended the season winning 10 of their last 11 outings en route to setting a new school record for wins in a season for the second consecutive season.
The one loss during that span was a 2-1 loss in overtime to Wingate in the regular-season-finale for both squads.

The 2010 season marks the fourth NCAA Tournament appearance for the Bulldogs. In 2009, Wingate defeated Flagler College 4-0 before falling to eventual national runner-up Lees-McRae College 6-3 in the second round. Anderson is making its second straight NCAA tournament appearance.

Wingate has hosted a first-round match in three of its four appearances. In 2007, the Bulldogs fell 2-1 to Lincoln Memorial University at a neutral site. Wingate hosted an NCAA first round contest in 1999, dropping a tough 2-0 decision to Queens University of Charlotte.

On Oct. 27, Wingate senior forward Jamie McKenna (Blackpool, England) scored the match-winner as the host Bulldogs survived Anderson 2-1 in overtime at the WU Soccer Complex. Bulldog All-American senior midfielder Luke Mulholland (Preston, England) hit a streaking McKenna in stride with a pinpoint pass for the match-winning goal.

Four Wingate players earned first team All-SAC honors this year, while two more Bulldogs earned second team accolades. Bulldog head coach Gary Hamill was named the SAC Coach of the Year.

Mulholland and McKenna were joined on the All-SAC first team by senior goalkeeper Joey Calandra (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) and freshman defender Gui Andrade (Sao Paulo, Brazil). Senior midfielder Jack Vundum (Birmingham, England) and sophomore forward Gui Lima (Sao Paulo, Brazil) were second team selections. Defenders Corey McCollom (Monroe, N.C.) and Stephen Kehoe (Newry, Ireland) were voted to the All-Tournament team following the Food Lion SAC event.

Anderson junior midfielder Lasse Sohrweide (Flensburg, Germany) recorded a hat trick in the Trojans' tournament championship victory over Mars Hill. He was named the Food Lion SAC tournament MVP. Earlier, Sohrweide was voted SAC Player of the Year by the league's coaches.

The 6-foot junior is tied for 1st in the conference and ranks fifth nationally in total assists and led the SAC in total points. Sohrweide also led the league in total goals and ranks 28th in the nation in goals scored. Senior Adrien Moufflet was a first-team all-conference honoree and was named to SAC all-tournament team after tying for fourth in the SAC in assists and was fifth on the team with three goals.

Senior defender Zach Denson was a second-team all-SAC selection and was named to the SAC all-tournament team after helping lead the defense to eight shutouts on the season. He recorded six assists to rank 10th in the league and 55th in the nation and posted one game-winning score on the season. Clement Samson earned second team all-conference accolades after tying for second in the SAC in goals scored and ranking 28th nationally. The 5-10 sophomore ranked third in the conference in goals per game as was second in the SAC with four game-winning goals. Listed as a defender, Denson saw action in 19 contests, handing out six assists to rank third on the team and 55th in the nation.

The Wingate-Anderson winner will face semi-final host and number one seed the University of Montevallo (18-2-1 overall) Friday in Montevallo, Ala. The other side of the Southeast Regional bracket features number three seed Clayton State (Ga.) University (16-3 overall) and number six seed Lees-McRae (13-4-3 overall). The CSU-LMC winner will face number two seed Flagler (14-4-1 overall) Friday in Montevallo.

Watch the Wingate University web site for more details about Wednesday's NCAA play-off match. The full bracket of the NCAA Division II men's soccer tournament bracket can be viewed at the NCAA web site at www.ncaa.com.