2008 Men's Soccer Review
November 20, 2008 | Men's Soccer
The Gardner-Webb men's soccer team put together a pretty good
year, finishing 5-3 in its inaugural season in the Big South
Conference. The Bulldogs main challenges came on the road and out
of conference, finishing a disappointing 1-9 away from Boiling
Springs. However, the Bulldogs did defend their home turf well,
sweeping the Big South at home this year (4-0).
In a league that was full of talent at the striker position, senior
Bradley Morrison was a standout, and it was evident as he picked up
second-team all-conference honors prior to the Big South
Tournament. Morrison, an exceptional midfield/forward, led the
Bulldogs in goals and total points. He was also one of the few
‘Dogs that played every game this season.
Fellow senior Miguel Pinzon garnered the most attention from many
of the other teams and coaches, picking up first-team
all-conference accolades for the 2008 season. Pinzon, an
outstanding midfielder, led the team in game-winning goals and
finished second to Morrison in points scored despite missing
several matches due to an injury early in the season. Pinzon also
finished second in assists with two on the season.
Eric Asanin-Miroux also picked up second-team all-conference honors
after having a stellar sophomore campaign. Mirioux played in 15
matches this season, missing two due to a season-ending injury
coming against Winthrop on October 30. As a sophomore, Miroux was
named co-captain of the Bulldogs and led the helped the squad to
four shutouts this season; two more from a season ago.
Fellow co-captain Logan Swaim was honored to the Big South's
all-academic team. Swaim tallied one goal and one assist on the
season, while holding a 3.37 GPA majoring in Biology.
The team didn't get off to a hot of start as they had hoped,
dropping its first five games to non-conference opponents; four of
which coming to Atlantic Sun teams. The Bulldogs first win came in
the Winthrop classic with a three nil thumping of USC-Upstate. GWU
dominated the entire match, out shooting the Spartans 24-9. Senior
goalie Dane Geraci was credited with the shutout, only having to
stop one shot in the match.
The Upstate game started a streak of three shutouts as the Bulldogs
picked up a 1-0 victory over Radford and a 4-0 win over
Presbyterian over their next two matches. Pinzon scored the
game-winner against Radford in the 22nd minute, but was one-uped by
Morrison who recorded his first career hat trick against
Presbyterian.
Gardner-Webb followed its streak of three shutouts by being shutout
in its next two matches. High Point was able to score in the late
minutes for a 1-0 win, and N.C. State followed that with a 4-0
routing.
Despite two big losses, the Bulldogs didn't lose hope. Led by the
senior leadership of Morrison, the Bulldogs picked up a huge 2-1
win against Coastal Carolina. Morrison notched his second
multi-goal game of the season scoring both goals for the
‘Dogs. He also was named Big South Player of the Week for his
efforts.
The Bulldogs followed the win with another 2-1 victory at
Asheville. The win marked the second road win of the season for the
‘Dogs, their first in conference. Gerrard Hefferon and Pinzon
scored back-to-back goals for GWU to mount the Bulldogs first
come-from-behind win of the season.
Gardner-Webb didn't fair well in its next two matches, falling 4-1
to Georgia Southern and shutout by Liberty 3-0. Some of the Bulldog
starters sat out the GSU match, but the match against Liberty was
arguably the worst match of the season for the ‘Dogs. That is
why the following 1-0 victory over VMI was a much bigger deal to
the team than the league office or standings showed. The win gave
the players confidence and it was a nice rebound to get the
Bulldogs ready for a tough Winthrop team on the road.
At the time, the match against Winthrop was for first place in the
Big South. The Bulldogs had a tough road schedule before the
matchup, but were coming in off a big conference win. Winthrop took
the lead with three minutes left in the first half, but Pinzon,
with help from Morrison, tied the match just seconds before
halftime at 1-1. The Eagles scored again midway through the second
half and held off the Bulldogs in the waning minutes to take the
match 2-1.
The last match of the regular season came at Clemson. The
‘Dogs picked up an early red card midway through the first
half and were forced to play the rest of the match one man down.
Despite the loss, the Bulldogs held strong, but did give up a goal
in the second half to fall 1-0 to their ACC opponent.
Gardner-Webb placed third in the Big South and pulled sixth ranked
Asheville in the first round of the Conference Championship. The
match seemed to be dominated by Gardner-Webb, but Asheville was
very efficient in its counter attack and downed the Bulldogs
4-2.
The Bulldogs will lose its two top goal scorers this season, but
will return seven rotational starters for next season. Combined
with a highly touted rookie class and the experience of players
like Swaim and Miroux, GWU will look not only to make the Big South
Men's Soccer Championship in 2009, but also aim at its first Big
South Conference title.
