Runnin' Bulldogs Shutout at UNC Greensboro in 4-0 Loss
September 25, 2011 | Men's Soccer
Greensboro, N.C. - Playing their second road match in two days, Gardner-Webb struggled to not only find fresh legs, but also the goal, as the UNC Greensboro Spartans scored three goals in the final 45 minutes of play to shutout the Runnin' Bulldogs and hand GWU a 4-0 non-conference loss on Saturday night in Greensboro, N.C.
The loss drops Gardner-Webb to 3-4-2 overall and 0-3-2 against the Southern Conference on the pitch this season, while UNC Greensboro improves to 3-5 on the year and 3-0 all-time versus the Runnin' Bulldogs.
The game was controlled by the Spartans from start to finish, as the home team posted four shots in the first 11 minutes of the match, putting the Gardner-Webb defense on its heels early.
After the next seven shot attempts for the Spartans were either off line or blocked by a GWU defender, UNC Greensboro finally scored on its 12th shot attempt of the first half, as David Reittinger took a pass from the left side line from fellow teammate Kris Byrd and blasted a shot from 25 yards out to put the home team up 1-0 in the 34th minute of play.
In the 40th minute, redshirt-sophomore Satoshi Tatsumi posted the first shot of the match for Gardner-Webb, as it sailed wide of the goal, keeping the score at 1-0 in favor of the Spartans.
Despite being outshot 14-1 in the first half of play, the Runnin' Bulldogs remained tough together and found themselves down only 1-0 at the halftime break.
In the start of the second half, GWU midfielder John Sargent recorded a shot attempt which sailed high in the 48th minute, as the Runnin' Bulldogs looked for the equalizer early in the final half of a play.
Yet it would be the Spartans who would score first in the second half, as in the 52nd minute Will Mack put a header into the back of the net from right in front of the goal to push the UNC Greensboro lead to two at 2-0.
Now down 2-0, the Runnin' Bulldog offense picked up the urgency, has Sargent, freshman Denzel Clarke and sophomore Brice Nardozzi all put shots on line over the next seven minutes of play, only to have UNC Greensboro goalkeeper Peyton Ford stop all three to keep the Runnin' Bulldogs off the scoreboard.
However, again it would be the Spartans who would break through, as in the 64th minute Ross Burki put a rebounded ball into the net from five feet out to increase the UNC Greensboro lead to three with 26 minutes to play in regulation.
UNC Greensboro added a fourth goal in the 78th minute, while GWU's Clarke had another shot attempt stopped by Ford in the 88th minute to give the home team the 4-0 shutout win over the Runnin' Bulldogs.
GWU goalkeeper Jaap Elekan suffered the loss, as he recorded four saves on 27 shot attempts from the Spartans, while Ford picked up the shutout win with four stops of his own over 90 minutes of play.
Sargent and Clarke each posted a team-high two shots on the match, while Tatsumi, Nardozzi and Jordan Day accounted for the other three shot attempts for GWU.
The Runnin' Bulldogs were outshot 27-7 for the match, while the Spartans also held an 8-4 advantage over GWU in corner kicks for the match.
Gardner-Webb (3-4-2, 0-1 Big South) will wrap up their non-conference slate next Tuesday night, as the Runnin' Bulldogs will take on the Clemson Tigers at 7 p.m. in Clemson, S.C.
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| Box Score: UNC Greensboro 4, Gardner-Webb 0 |
