Wingate University Men picked to finish first in SAC league standings; Bulldogs place 6 on first team preseason all-conference team
Date Posted: 8/25/2015
Rock Hill, S.C.----The defending regular season champion Wingate University Bulldogs have been picked as the favorites in the preseason SAC poll, which was released Tuesday morning. The league's 12 head coaches vote on the preseason poll. In addition, six Bulldogs have been named preseason first team All-SAC selections.
The Bulldogs picked up 10 of the 12 first-place votes in the poll, finishing 22 points ahead of Carson-Newman, who was picked to finish second. Mars Hill was picked third, followed by Tusculum, who collected two first-place votes. Lincoln Memorial was picked fifth, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne, Anderson and Queens. Coker and Catawba round out the top 10, while Newberry and Brevard were picked 11th and 12th, respectively.
The Bulldogs have six of the 13 preseason first team All-SAC selections. Junior forward Charlie Machell (Newcastle, England) is joined by midfielders Shaun Gadsby (Newcastle, England), Aksel Juul (Newcastle, England) and David Fairgrieve (Newcastle, England). Junior defender Alex Nelson (Newcastle, England) is joined by sophomore defender James Scott (Newcastle, England).
Machell was named the SAC Player of the Year in 2014, while earning third team All-American honors from the NSCAA. He was also a first team All-Region selection. Machell led the SAC with 12 goals and 28 points. He had a hat trick in Wingate's 4-1 win against Emmanuel. Machell had a goal and an assist in the 2-0 win at UNC Pembroke, while registering a pair of assists in the 3-1 win against Tusculum. He scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Carson-Newman, while also netting the game-winner against Mars Hill. Machell's second hat trick of the year came in the victory at Queens. He scored a goal in the LMU victory on the final day of the regular season that clinched the regular season SAC title, while also scoring in the SAC Tournament win against Coker.
Gadsby was a first team All-SAC and All-Region selection in 2014. He finished second in the conference with eight assists, fourth with seven goals and third with 22 points. Gadsby had a hat trick in Wingate's 3-1 win against Tusculum. He scored a goal in the Mars Hill victory, while notching assists in back-to-back 2-1 wins against Newberry and Brevard. Gadsby had a goal in the SAC Tournament quarterfinal win against Coker, while notching two assists in the semifinal victory against Lenoir-Rhyne. He had an assist in the SAC championship match, while compiling a goal and an assist in the NCAA Tournament win against Barton.
Juul was an All-SAC and All-Region performer during his sophomore season. He ranked third in the conference with eight goals and sixth with 17 points. Juul had a goal and an assist in the 2-1 win at Brevard. He also scored in the 2-1 Newberry victory. Juul scored twice against LMU on the final day of the regular season as the Bulldogs clinched the SAC title. He also had two goals in the SAC Tournament semifinals win against Lenoir-Rhyne. Juul scored twice in Wingate's 4-1 win over Barton in the NCAA Tournament.
Fairgrieve was an honorable mention All-SAC selection during his freshman season. He appeared in all 20 games during the 2014 season, starting 19 contests. Fairgrieve had two goals and two assists on the season. He had a goal and an assist in the 4-0 victory at Catawba. Fairgrieve registered an assist in the 3-1 win over Coker in the SAC Tournament. He scored the game-winning goal in Wingate's 4-1 victory over Barton in the NCAA Tournament.
Nelson was a first team All-SAC and All-Region selection in 2014, while Scott earned second team all-conference honors as a freshman. The two helped the Wingate defense rank second in the conference, allowing just 0.97 goals per game. The 'Dogs allowed a league-low 10 goals during conference games. Wingate had seven shutouts which included a 1-0 victory against then-number-five Limestone. Nelson netted a goal in the Emmanuel victory, while Scott had a goal in the win against Mars Hill. Scott also collected four assists on the season.