WINGATE, N.C. - The Brevard College Tornados (2-13, 0-7 SAC) dropped their South Atlantic Conference road finale to the No. 12 Wingate Bulldogs (10-3, 5-2 SAC) by a final of 17-4 on the road in Wingate, N.C., Saturday afternoon in men's lacrosse action.
For the Tornados, sophomore Jackson McKaig (Gainesville, Fla.) led the way, scoring two of the teams four goals, while adding a solo assist on seven shot attempts. Senior Brendan Friss (Mooresville, N.C.) and junior David Buono (Bethany, Conn.) each added a goal apiece, while sophomore's Hewitt Farr (Santa Fe, N.M.) and Kyle Hunziker (Gainesville, Fla.), along with freshman Joel Vacchiano (Sebastian, Fla.) each contributed an assist.
The Bulldogs were led offensively, by Tanner Kotch, Jeremy Sullivan, and Austin Murphy, as the trio finished the afternoon with three scores apiece, while six other Wingate players finished with goals. Murphy wrapped up the SAC bout with a game-high four assists, while Sullivan added three helpers and a game-best 11 shots.
Wingate's Wyatt Weiseman finished the afternoon 17-25 on faceoff attempts, while collecting a game-high 14 ground balls.
Hunizker led the Tornados with five pickups, while Farr added four. Additionally, sophomore Harrison Roberts (Columbia, S.C.) filled out the stat sheet as Roberts won eight face-offs for the game.
Following two Wingate goals to open the afternoon, Brevard evened the score at two all, as Friss netted his fourth score of the year off a Hunziker assist, while Buono fired home his 10th goal off a McKaig helper.
Wingate added a lone goal over the final five-minutes of the first quarter to take a 3-2 lead heading into the second frame.
The Bulldogs notched two more scores in the beginning stages of the second, taking a 5-2 lead, before McKaig collected his 28th goal of the season off a Vacchiano assist.
However, Wingate went on a 4-0 run over the final minutes of the first half and the opening eight-minutes of the third quarter to open up a 9-3 lead.
McKaig ended the Bulldogs run at the 6:05 mark of the third quarter for his 29th goal of the year off a Farr pass, but the damage had been done as the Tornados trailed 9-4 with 18-minutes remaining in the half.
Following McKaig's goal, Wingate ended the contest on an 8-0 run to take the 17-4 final.
The Tornados are set to close out the 2017 season this coming Saturday, Apr. 22 as they host the Mars Hill University Lions at 7 p.m. as the Brevard will recognize five seniors who will graduate in May as the first lacrosse graduating class.