Bulldogs Beat Bruins, 1-0, in Conference Home Opener
October 05, 2007 | Men's Soccer
BOILING SPRINGS – The men's soccer team claimed their first
win of the season Friday night, topping A-Sun foe Belmont 1-0.
The Bulldogs (1-2 A-Sun) were fired up to start off the game. Logan
Swaim missed just high not even one minute in and, shortly
after, Gardner-Webb connected when Richard
Godfrey scored his fifth goal of the season. Godfrey's goal
came in the second minute of play. The goal was assisted by Zach
Burkett, who played a nice through-ball into Godfrey. Godfrey
placed the shot into the bottom right corner past the outstretched
arms of the Bruin's goalie.
With a 1-0 lead, the Bulldogs buckled down on defense the rest of
the way. Both teams looked evenly matched all through the first
half, with neither really imposing one's will upon the other.
Gardner-Webb still showed great ball movement even though they had
moved into a defensive role. The Bulldogs had great communication
on the field, and put together several good runs off one-touch
passing.
Bradley Morrison almost made the game 2-0, but
his shot from 18 yards out hit the crossbar. The Bulldogs finally
ended their defensive role towards the end of the half, but the
score would remain 1-0 going into halftime.
The second half was a grueling battle for Belmont, as the Bulldogs'
defense held strong. With both teams tiring, Gardner-Webb's Dane
Geraci showed great poise and made a nice save of a potential
game-tying shot with just 10 seconds left on the clock to secure
the shutout.
Gardner-Webb will rest until Sunday, when they host Lipscomb at
1:00 pm ET on Varsity Field.
| Box Score |
