Gardner-Webb Women's Soccer Set To Kick Off Big South Conference Play This Weekend
October 01, 2009 | Women's Soccer
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.- After completing the non-conference portion of the 2009 season, the Gardner-Webb women's soccer team is ready to embark in its second Big South Conference campaign.
The Lady Bulldogs, who currently have a record of 6-5-0, faced some tough competition early in the season, facing off against defending Southern Conference champion Western Carolina, ACC powerhouse Duke, and defending Conference USA regular season champion East Carolina. The non-conference schedule also included former A-Sun foes in Campbell and USC Upstate, along with good teams in UT-Chattanooga, The Citadel, South Carolina State, Appalachian State, Wright State, and Francis Marion.
Head Coach Kevin Mounce was pleased with the outcome of the non-conference play: "We have had a pretty good pre-conference schedule. We have played teams that we feel have us prepared for the rigors of conference play in the Big South. We have done a lot of work with formation changes and lineup changes and feel we still can do better, but it seems to be coming along."
The team currently led offensively by sophomore Megan Reimer, who has recorded seven goals thus far. The Hamilton, Ohio native was also named Big South Player of the Week on September 8th, becoming the first Lady Bulldog to receive this honor. Sophomores Stephanie Benshoof and Megan Tremblay lead the assist category for the Lady Bulldogs with three each. Freshman goalkeeper Samantha Rupert has been in goal the entire season for the Lady Bulldogs, recording three shutouts along the way.
Last season, the Lady Bulldogs finished its inaugural season in the Big South Conference with a conference record of 2-5-2, with what was a very young squad. This season, the team has more experience and Coach Mounce is ready to get the conference season under way: "We are excited to get started to reach our goal of winning the conference and participating in the conference and in the conference tournament. Our team has worked very hard on improving and are committed to continue to get better so that we can represent Gardner-Webb University in the best way possible."
Gardner-Webb opens the 2009 Big South Conference season Saturday night as they host the Winthrop Eagles. Coach Mounce says his squad is ready to get the conference season started: "It will be good to start out at home to open the conference, but Winthrop will present some challenges for us. Every team is always really excited about the start of conference play and we always have tough games with Winthrop. It is usually a one goal game and is competitive for the whole 90 minutes. I know Coach Heinz will have them prepared and read, but we are up for the challenge."
The match between Gardner-Webb and Winthrop is part of a double-header for both schools men's and women's teams. The women will face each other at approximately 7:00 PM Saturday night, following the men's matchup that will take place at 5:00 PM. The matches will take place at Greene-Harbison Field in Boiling Springs, N.C.
| Week 7 Game Notes |
