Bulldogs Record First Win at Winthrop Classic
September 14, 2008 | Men's Soccer
Sophomore Adam Augruso scored two goals and tallied one assist in the second half of Sunday's matchup to lead Gardner-Webb to a 3-0 victory over USC-Upstate. The win marks the first of the year for the Bulldogs as they go to 1-5-0 on the year. The victory also stops a five-match winless streak against the neighboring Spartans who are located only 30 miles from Boiling Springs.
The two teams played to a 0-0 tie heading into halftime, and the defensive battle looked to keep up in the second half until Augruso broke free in the 57th minute to put the Bulldogs up 1-0. Senior Miguel Pinzon, who just came back from injury, played a nice through ball to Augruso who in-turn beat the Spartan's goalkeeper for the first goal of the match. The go-ahead goal also marked the first time Gardner-Webb held a lead in a match.
The goal seemed to stun the Spartans and the Bulldogs took full advantage by rounding off 10 shots in the second period alone. One of those shots came in the 78th minute when Richard Gray connected on a cross from Augruso to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. Less than two minutes later, Augruso capitalized on a one-on-one with the Spartans goalkeeper to put the match at 3-0 in favor of the Bulldogs.
Gardner-Webb's defense did an awesome job as well, recording its first shutout of the season. Senior Dane Geraci only had to make one save in the match to record his first shutout and win of the season.
Hopefully the Bulldogs can follow their impressive showing with the same caliber of play as they start conference play on Saturday, Sept. 20 at home versus Radford. The match is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Greene-Harbison Stadium in Boiling Springs, N.C.
WinthropClassic All-Tournament Team
Senior Miguel Pinzon
Sophomore Adam Augruso
Sophomore Eric Asanin-Miroux
