Sports Writer: Marc Cottage and Ben Robertson
Wingate, N.C. — Numerous former All-Americans and All-SAC honorees traveled to campus to play in the annual alumni game at Graham Gill Field on Oct. 2. The game returned after a year hiatus due to COVID-19, kicking off an action-packed day of lacrosse. The former Bulldogs may have been out of their primes, but they still put on an electric show.
“It was a really good game,” former goalie and current Graduate Assistant Anthony Picano commented. “There was high energy on both sides, and it was a back-and-forth game from start to finish.”
Later in the day, the current Bulldog lacrosse team faced off with Lander for their first scrimmage of the fall. Fall scrimmages were another item that got scrapped in 2020 due to the pandemic.
“It is fun to play against another team after beating up on each other all fall,” junior attack Zachary Pizzimenti said.
The Bulldog offense started slow, but senior midfielder Collin Fleming got it rolling with a goal in the second quarter. Junior midfielder Daman Lingasin added a sweet behind-the-back goal a bit later, and senior attack Bobby Padden also put one away.
A few of the freshmen got in on the scoring as well. Liam Hoogstraten, Tanner Hagerty, and Braylon Baker all tallied in the 9-4 victory.
At the other end of the field, the defense was on lockdown. Goalies KC Carlson and Johnny Caponi led the way with a ton of impressive saves.
The following weekend marked another yearly tradition, the Blue-White Game. This is an intrasquad scrimmage with each team being drafted and captained by the seniors.
It was a thrilling affair, with the white team taking home a 14-13 win after trailing most of the way.
“The best Blue-White Game since I have been here,” Head Coach Tim Boyle told his players after the game.
Lingasin had another big day scoring three goals, including the game-winner with one minute remaining. Junior faceoff specialist Donovan Jones took home the game’s MVP honors after a good battle at the faceoff circle with senior James Kotcamp.
The Bulldogs will have one more afternoon of fall scrimmages Sunday when they travel to Barton to match up with them and Mount Olive in a round-robin event. The team aims to build chemistry and test their skills one more time against quality opponents.
Wingate Triangle 