Wingate, N.C. – A slow start on Tuesday afternoon proved costly for North Greenville against Wingate as the Crusaders fell 19-8 to the Bulldogs in non-conference action.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-0 lead over the Crusaders in the first half before Brenis Napoli got NGU on the board with her fourth score of the season. Napoli added a first half assist, hooking up with Jillian Cheisa for NGU’s second of the game.

Rachel Kellogg added one more score for the Crusaders but Wingate fired off nine first half scores to take a six goal (9-3) lead into intermission. Kellogg would lead the team with three goals on the night, scoring a pair in the second half.

North Greenville looked to close the gap in the second half, capitalizing on an early opportunity when Cheisa took an Olivia Foltz pass in for her second of the game. The goal cut the Bulldog lead to just 9-4 with more than 27-minutes left on the clock.

The Bulldogs pulled away in the next few minutes, scoring four unanswered and five of the next seven to put NGU on its heels. Aly Estes and Olivia Foltz  accounted for North Greenville’s final two goals of the second period.

Offensively, Foltz and Napoli led the Crusaders with two assists each while Ellie Corder led the Crusaders with a pair of caused turnovers and two saves in net. Jessie Williams finished with three saves in the second half.

North Greenville is back on the road on Friday against UVA Wise in Wise, Virginia at 6 PM.