Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University men’s soccer team opened its 2009 South Atlantic Conference schedule with a 2-0 win over the Pioneers of Tusculum College Saturday evening at the WU Soccer Complex. The victory is the fifth straight win for the Bulldogs, who improve to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the SAC. Tusculum falls to 5-2-1 overall and 1-2 in the conference.

After a scoreless first half, junior midfielder Luke Mulholland (Preston England) got the scoring started by netting his second goal of the season 8:09 into the second half. Freshman midfielder Ruy Andrade (Brasilia, Brazil) had the assist on the play.

The Bulldogs added some insurance seven minutes later when sophomore forward Paulo Brunetto (Sao Paulo, Brazil) took the rebound in front of the net and scored his fourth goal of the year.

Wingate outshot the Pioneers 20-9 on the night, while holding an 8-5 edge in shots on goal. Brunetto led the Bulldogs with six shots, three of which were shots on goal. Freshman forward Andra Shelton (Memphis, Tenn.) led the Pioneers with three shots, including one shot on goal.

Wingate junior goalkeeper Joey Calandra (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) collected five saves for the Bulldogs, posting his second shutout of the season. Senior goalkeeper Lance Moore (Morristown, Tenn.) had six saves for the Pioneers.

The Bulldogs return to action Wednesday, September 30, when they host Catawba College at 7 p.m. Tusculum is back in action Sunday, October 4, hosting Newberry College at 2 p.m.

(Wingate University assistant sports information director Hugh Patton wrote this article. Patton is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)