2008 Women's Soccer Review
November 12, 2008 | Women's Soccer
The Gardner-Webb women's soccer team faced many challenges during its inaugural season in the Big South Conference. Head coach Kevin Mounce's team was extremely young during the transition year into the new league and it showed at times. However, more often that not, the Bulldogs showed flashes of brilliance on the pitch, which means that the squad will be more than able to take on the challenges presented next season and conquer the opposition.
Senior Angie Harvey garnered the most attention from many of the other teams and coaches, and it was evident as she picked up first-team all-conference accolades prior to the Big South Women's Soccer Championship. Harvey, an outstanding midfielder, led the team in goals, assists and points despite missing multiple matches due to an injury during the regular-season opener. She also tied for the team lead in game-winning goals. Two of Harvey's goals came via the penalty kick as well. A hard worker off the field as well, Harvey was named the Big South's scholar-athlete team.
Newcomer Megan Tremblay earned a spot on the Big South all-freshman team after having a stellar rookie campaign. Tremblay, a native of Jacksonville, Fla., played in 18 matches on the season while starting nine contests. She notched one goal on the season for two points. The score came at the always difficult place to play, Buies Creek, N.C., as the Bulldogs took on Campbell during the middle portion of their schedule.
After opening the year with a loss to Georgia Southern, the Red and Black bounced back in a big way against Southern Conference foe The Citadel. Starting a line-up that consisted of five rookies and six newcomers, the Bulldogs put forth a fine effort against The Citadel. In the 28th minute of play, freshman Paige Reagan fired home a shot into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
Just after intermission, fellow first-year standout Megan Reimer posted her first collegiate score en route to the 2-0 win. Both the offense and defense seemed to be clicking for Mounce's team. GWU fired 25 shots in the contest, 14 of them being on goal. The back line allowed just six shots on frame, all of which were stopped by transfer Jessica Tuggle.
GWU's offense struggled over the next four contests as the team was shut out in each match. After dropping the four matches by a combined six goals, the Bulldogs pounced on nearby USC Upstate, a former conference rival from a year ago in the Atlantic Sun.
The Red and Black's rookie Chelsea Hearne headed home the game-winning goal in just the 25th minute of play off a corner kick from junior Kasey Gladhill. Hearne, a formidable defender and goalkeeper for the Bulldogs, was inserted in the box for corner kicks so GWU would be able to find her 6-0 frame in the air, giving the squad a better chance to gain possession and convert it into goals.
A setback at East Carolina did not deter the Bulldogs from their goal of playing strong and hard in every Big South Conference match. During arguably the toughest portion of the Bulldogs' schedule, the team would have to persevere as it squared off in the league opener at Charleston Southern Sept. 20.
With the contest scoreless at intermission, Mounce injected some life into the team at the break. Nearly 16 minutes into the final stanza, Harvey banged home a ball that went off Jena Uvalle's hands and hit the right post before finding the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. Harvey then set up Reagan in the 81st minute for an easy goal inside the box for an astounding 2-0 advantage the Bulldogs would not relinquish.
In goal for GWU was senior Sarah Wyszynski, who notched her second shutout of the season, with the first coming at USC Upstate. Wyszynski stopped four shots to record her 12th career shutout, which is good enough for fourth on the list.
The next match, which was at Campbell two days later, saw the Bulldogs drop a tough non-conference battle. However, during the contest, Wyszynski was also injured, forcing her to miss most of the rest of the season. Down 2-0, Kim Scercy went between the pipes and played a solid 42:14 to close out the match while GWU put a goal on the board, but was unable to tie it.
Mounce's team was unable to come out on the winning end over the next four matches, all of which were conference contests.
The team's fortunes started to turn around on Oct. 23, when the squad answered an early Liberty goal with one of its own 20 seconds later. Down 1-0, a GWU student-athlete was fouled in the box, allowing Harvey to take and connect on a penalty kick, tying the contest at 1-1. From that point forward, the Bulldogs played with more intensity and tenacity as they were once again on even footing with the opposition.
At the 39:48 mark, rookie Tina Frost received a pass from Harvey and immediately played the ball on a slow, looping shot over the hands of Liberty's keeper Ashley Nyholt, who could only attempt to run it down before the ball ended up in the opposite end of the goal for a 2-1 lead. The Bulldogs would not give up the lead again as Tuggle stopped seven shots in the win.
The victory gave GWU some much needed confidence heading into Senior Day. Due to an injury just prior to the match, Scercy was forced to sit out the match in which she was slated to start. With Tuggle having a previous family engagement and Wyszynski being sidelined, Mounce turned to Hearne, who had played goalkeeper in high school.
Hearne had a few minutes to prepare for the eventual Big South Conference champion Radford Highlanders, and played superbly. After getting one easy save in the early going, Hearne stopped three more shots en route to the 0-0 double overtime tie.
Tuggle then led GWU to a 0-0 tie at High Point to close out the regular season. In similar fashion, Tuggle stuffed four of the Panthers' shots in the contest.
Due to the head-to-head win against Liberty, the Bulldogs played their way into the No. 8 seed, returning to the postseason for the first time in three years. Although the first-round match against Coastal Carolina, Mounce's team was able to gain some valuable experience that will serve his 2009 squad extremely well. With 18 returners on the team, the Bulldogs will look to be a force next season.
The Bulldogs return seven of their top eight goal scorers on the
season and two of the top three student-athletes who led the team
in assists. Combined with Tuggle in goal, who started 10 matches,
and a highly touted rookie class, GWU will look to not only make
the Big South Women's Soccer Championship field in 2009, but also
take aim at its first Big South Conference title.
