Lady Bulldogs To Face USC Upstate Friday; Host East Carolina Sunday Afternoon
August 25, 2009 | Women's Soccer
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.- The Gardner-Webb women's soccer team's season continues this week as they travel down to Spartanburg, S.C. Friday evening to take on former Atlantic Sun Conference foe USC Upstate, and then take on the Pirates of East Carolina in the season's home opener Sunday afternoon.
The Lady Bulldogs come off of a week in which they took on two teams that made appearances in the NCAA Tournament last season in Western Carolina and Duke. The Lady Bulldogs fell to the Catamounts by the score of 1-0 when WCU scored a late goal, and the Blue Devils defeated the Lady Bulldogs by a score of 3-0.
Gardner-Webb Head Coach Kevin Mounce has this to say about last week's matches: "Last week we played two great teams from the State of NC and it shows what type of talent and teams are in this state when it comes to collegiate soccer. WCU went to the NCAA tournament last year and Duke the Elite Eight. They both presented different challenges for us, but I felt like we did a very good job competing. We still have some areas to improve in, but both matches we took positives from in which we can build upon. I feel like we are ahead of where we were a year ago, but at the end of the day you have to start getting some results and that is what we are planning on doing."
Friday, the Lady Bulldogs travel to Spartanburg, S.C to face USC Upstate. The Spartans finished the 2008 season with a record of 3-14-0. Last season, the two teams faced each other, with Gardner-Webb winning by score of 1-0. The match is set to take place at 7 p.m. at the County University Soccer Stadium.
Sunday, the Lady Bulldogs square off against the East Carolina Pirates in the team's home opener. The Pirates finished the 2008 season with a record of 14-4-4 and were the Conference USA Regular Season Champions. The two teams met last season in Greenville, N.C., with the Pirates winning by a score of 2-0. The match is set to take place at 2 p.m. at Greene-Harbison Field.
Coach Mounce had these comments about the upcoming matches: "I am looking forward for this week's matches. It is always fun to play USC Upstate, since they are close and it is a good rivalry. Coach Reyes does a great job and will have his team prepared. East Carolina is our home opener and I know our team is looking forward to playing at home against such a quality opponent as East Carolina. I am hoping for a big crowd and an even bigger effort from our team."
Following this week's contests, the team will host the Citadel September 5th, and Campbell on September 7th.
| Week 2 Game Notes |
