Gardner-Webb Unable to Hold off Louisiana-Lafayette, Drops 2-0 Decision Sunday
September 16, 2012 | Women's Soccer
Cullowhee, N.C. - In its second match at the Western Carolina Invitational, Gardner-Webb surrendered goals in the 44th and 46th minutes and closed the weekend with a 2-0 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette.
GWU drops to 1-6 on the season with the loss.
The Runnin' Bulldogs' offense came out firing Sunday, immediately putting pressure on the Ragin' Cajun defense with shots on goal in the opening minutes of the match to challenge keeper Amanda Moorefield.
Freshman Tori James (Fayatteville, Ga.) put a shot on goal in the second minute of the match after finding space inside ULL's defensive zone. It was deflected by Moorefield, and freshman Shelby Hooe (Mechanicsville, Va.) took a shot off the rebound, but it was also saved by Moorefield.
Louisiana-Lafayette was able to settle and control the pace of play for much of the first half, as the Runnin' Bulldogs struggled to earn quality looks at the opposing goal after the early shot attempts by James and Hooe. GWU was outshot ten to three in the first half, and played without recording a shot for nearly 43 minutes straight.
The Gardner-Webb defense bent, but did not break during the first half, as a backline led by sophomore Addison Abee (Charlotte, N.C.) and junior Ele Margelos (North Potomac, Md.) held strong and appeared to be headed toward pitching a shutout going into halftime. Starting defenders Brianna Fraire (Clemmons, N.C.) and Whitney Emerson (Olive Branch, Miss.) played key roles in helping the Runnin' Bulldogs defensive effort in the opening half.
The Ragin' Cajuns struck with a Hayden Gibson goal in the 44th minute to put GWU in a 1-0 hole, heading into halftime with the momentum of the game in hand.
For the second consecutive match, Gardner-Webb surrendered a goal early coming out of the break, as ULL's Shelby Isley connected on a goal in the 46th minute to put the Runnin' Bulldogs down 2-0.
Gardner-Webb flipped its offensive struggles around in the second half, starting with a furious rally in an attempt to erase the two score deficit after the Ragin' Cajuns' second goal went through.
A young Runnin' Bulldogs team responded to the adversity of a 2-0 deficit by creating opportunity after opportunity to score and cut into the ULL lead, garnering twelve shots including eight on goal in the second half.
James recorded her second shot on goal in the 47th minute, and fellow freshman Brooke Kelly (Lawrenceville, Ga.) also forced the ULL keeper to make a play by putting a shot on frame in the 52nd minute of the match, but Moorefield saved both to preserve her team's lead.
Hooe fired a shot on goal in the 57th minute that was saved, and a threatening header attempted by Kelly in the 57th minute flew high of the crossbar as the Runnin' Bulldogs continued to knock on the door.
Louisiana-Lafayette countered with an offensive burst of its own, as Isley once again found space to get a shot off, but her shot attempt in the 62nd minute was saved by GWU keeper Amy Schmitt (Waxhaw, N.C.) to keep the deficit at two goals.
Gardner-Webb kept pressuring the ULL backline, refusing to let down despite being down 2-0. Freshman Samantha Gutierrez (Austin, Texas) continued her strong play in the midfield Sunday, gaining a good look at the Ragin' Cajun goal and letting loose a shot attempt placed on frame. Moorefield saved Gutierrez's goal bid, and the score remained 2-0 in favor of ULL.
An Arielle McCarthy Crum-Ewing (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada) shot attempt was blocked out of bounds in the 68th minute, earning Gardner-Webb a corner kick. The ensuing attempt by freshman Tara Woelfel (Thurmont, Md.) was well placed in front of the Ragin' Cajun goal, and sophomore midfielder Megan Curan (Mooresville, N.C.) was able to get a head on it, but her shot attempt went just wide.
A save by Schmitt in the 71st minute kept the threatening Runnin' Bulldogs offense within striking distance.
Gutierrez got another good look at the goal in the 74th minute, putting her second shot of the match on frame, but another save from Moorefield kept the Ragin' Cajuns comfortably ahead late in the match.
A last ditch effort by the Runnin' Bulldogs to get back in the match came off the foot of Hooe in the 89th minute, but a Moorefield save thwarted her attempt to keep the match at 2-0 as the clock ran down.
Moorefield (4-4, eight saves) took the win for Louisiana-Lafayette, while Schmitt (1-6, four saves) collected the loss for Gardner-Webb.
Hooe (five shots, three shots on goal) led the Runnin' Bulldogs offensively for the fourth consecutive match, as the freshman continued her recent string of strong play up front for GWU. James (two shots, both on goal) and Gutierrez (two shots, both on goal) also put in valuable contributions for Gardner-Webb's offensive efforts.
Abee and Margelos led the Runnin' Bulldog defense, as each played the full 90 minutes for the GWU backline.
The stellar play of Gardner-Webb's Brooke Kelly throughout the weekend landed her a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Gardner-Webb opens conference play with home matches vs. Charleston Southern and Coastal Carolina on Thursday, Sep. 20 (6:00 p.m.) and Saturday, Sep. 22 (1:00 p.m.) this week. Fans can follow all of the action via live stats, as well as live video coverage of both matches, at gwusports.com.
| Box Score: ULL 2 - GWU 0 |
