Runnin' Bulldogs Remain Unbeaten at Home; Blank High Point 2-0 on Saturday Night
October 23, 2011 | Men's Soccer
Boiling Springs, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb men's soccer team made history on Saturday night, as the Runnin' Bulldogs defeated the High Point Panthers for the first time in eight tries, shutting out the Panthers for a 2-0 win at Greene-Harbison Field in Boiling Springs, N.C.
The win pushes the Runnin' Bulldogs to a perfect 4-0 at home this season and 5-2 in conference play, while the loss drops High Point to 5-8-2 overall and 2-4-2 in the Big South.
In what was a battle of speed for the Panthers and physicality for the Runnin' Bulldogs, proved to be a very exciting contest from start to finish as both teams went back-and-forth at each other throughout the match.
After a Chris Davis shot was stopped by High Point keeper Michael Chesler in the 10th minute of play, the Panthers Alex Martinez put a shot on goal that was hauled in by GWU goalkeeper Scott Krotee,
Gardner-Webb's Jon Ole Reinhardsen saw a header get swatted away by Chesler and hit off the cross bar in the 23rd minute, as the Runnin' Bulldogs best scoring chance was punched away by the High Point goalkeeper midway through the opening half.
GWU's Krotee made a save on a header by Karo Okiomah of High Point in the 26th minute, yet got a lot of help from the Gardner-Webb defensive backline that blocked the next three High Point shot attempts to keep the score knotted up at 0-0 with less than 20 minutes to play in the first half.
The Runnin' Bulldogs finally broke through in the 35th minute, as Reinhardsen put his right foot on a loose ball in front of the goal that had rebounded off of a High Point defender and blasted a shot that rolled just out of the reach of Chesler to put the home team on the scoreboard and up early at 1-0.
Over the final 10 minutes of the opening half, the Runnin' Bulldogs weathered the storm, as High Point fired off three more shots that were all offline, giving GWU the 1-0 halftime lead.
In the second half, the two teams' traded shot attempts back and forth with Krotee making another save in goal for the Runnin' Bulldogs in the 53rd minute.
Gardner-Webb's best scoring attempt of the night came in the 58th minute, as junior defender Jovan Ivanovich played a ball through the High Point defense where Davis chased it down took one touch to make a move past the Panther defender then lined a shot off his left foot that sailed past a diving Chesler and just inside the front left post to put the home team up 2-0 with a little over 30 minutes to play in the contest.
High Point continued to put the pressure on the GWU defense, as the Panthers accounted for five more shots over the next 20 minutes of play, only to have Krotee make two saves and the GWU defense block two more shots to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard.
In the final 10 minutes of play, the Panthers saw two open shot attempts sail wide right of the goal, as the Runnin' Bulldogs held on for the 2-0 shutout win.
The win puts the Runnin' Bulldogs at 1-5-2 all-time versus the Panthers on the pitch.
Reinhardsen's goal was his second of the season, while the goal by Davis was his fifth on the year, which is a team-high for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
Krotee recorded his seventh win of the season, tallying five saves in goal for GWU, while Chesler, who made two saves in 90 minutes of play, falls to 5-8-2 on the year.
The Panthers outshot GWU 20-10, including 12-7 in the second half, while High Point also held a 10-5 advantage in corner kicks for the match.
Gardner-Webb (8-6-2, 5-2 Big South) will return to action next Saturday night, October 29th, as the Runnin' Bulldogs will hit the road for the final time of the season, traveling to Radford, Va. to face off with the Radford Highlanders at 7 p.m.
High Point (5-8-2, 2-4-1 Big South) will step out of conference play to host the Longwood Lancers on October 25th at 7 p.m.
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| Box Score: Gardner-Webb 2, High Point 0 |
