Close Call: Gardner-Webb Edges Winthrop 1-0 in Big South Action
October 31, 2013 | Men's Soccer
Boiling Springs, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb men's soccer team used a late first half goal and 11 saves from freshman goalkeeper Matthew Swan to post its third straight shutout and edge the Winthrop Eagles 1-0 on Wednesday night at Greene-Harbison Field in Boiling Springs, N.C.
The win pushes GWU's current winning streak to five straight matches and puts the Runnin' Bulldogs at 9-6-1 overall and 6-3-0 in conference play. With the loss, Winthrop falls to 9-6-1 overall and 3-5-0 in the Big South.
Gardner-Webb sophomore Craig Swaby scored his first goal of the season in the 44th minute as the lone goal in the 1-0 win.
The start of the match started out as a back-and-forth contest, as GWU's Kevin Comvalius fired off the first shot in the fifth minute, which was blocked, while Winthrop followed with three shots over the next six minutes of play, one of which was stopped by Swan in the eighth minute.
After GWU leading scorer Denzel Clarke saw his first scoring chance, a header off a pass into the box, fly high of the goal in the 12th minute, Winthrop's offensive attack increased its intensity as the Eagles outshot the Runnin' Bulldogs 4-1 over the next five minute of play with Swan making two key stops during that time span.
Both Clarke and Mafi looked to put the home team on the scoreboard first over the next several minutes, as Clarke sent a header high in the 29th minute and Mafi fired off a wild shot that went way left of the goal in the 30th minute, as the first half ticked away for both teams.
Following back-to-back saves by GWU's Swan in the 35th and in the 38th minute, a fresh Swaby entered the contest in the 40th minute and struck quickly to put the home team on top 1-0.
In the 44th minute, Ali Al-Gashamy chipped a pass up to the front of the box where a streaking Swaby leapt for the ball and brought it down with his knee. With a defender on his back he took the shot off the ground and put it past Winthrop goalkeeper Fabian Broich for his first goal of the season.
With the score at 1-0 in favor of the Runnin' Bulldogs coming out of the halftime break, the Winthrop Eagles controlled possession for most of the second half only to see the GWU defense refuse to break.
The Eagles came out firing in the second half, as Achille Obougou, Adam Brundle and Adriano Negri combined to record five of the first six shots in the second half, with Swan making a stop on a Obougou header in the 52nd minute to keep the visitors off the scoreboard.
Gardner-Webb's duo of Marius Hammersmark and Al-Gashamy each put a shot on frame, which were both saved by Broich, as the Runnin' Bulldogs looked for an insurance goal with just less than 30 minutes to go in regulation.
Mafi, whose shot was blocked in the 63rd minute, and Al-Gashamy continued to find some openings in the Winthrop defensive third, however, Broich again made a save in the 68th minute to keep the score at 1-0.
The Eagles' best scoring chance came in the 74th minute, as Negri put a shot toward the goal that was stopped by a sliding Swan. However, the ball bounced right back to Negri who had an open net and pushed the ball toward the goal where a GWU defender came flying into the box and cleared it away from the goal.
Winthrop's Magnus Thorsson tracked down the loose ball and blasted a shot back towards the goal where GWU's Swan recovered to make the stop and keep the home team in front at 1-0.
Gardner-Webb had two more close calls in the final 15 minutes of play, as Winthrop appeared to score a goal in the 78th minute, only to see it waived off due to an offsides call.
After Swan made yet another stop in the 80th minute on a Obougou shot attempt and the GWU defense blocked another Winthrop scoring chance in the 82nd minute, the Eagles again saw the ball find the back of the net in the 89th only to have erased due to another offsides call, its sixth of the match.
The Runnin' Bulldogs were then able to weather the late Winthrop attack over the closing minutes and hold on for the 1-0 home win.
Swan (9-6-1) recorded his third straight shutout and his fifth of the season, as the reigning Big South Defensive Player of the Week tallied 11 saves in between the posts on the night.
Winthrop's Broich (2-3-0) recorded three saves in the loss.
Winthrop outshot GWU 27-15, putting 12 shots on frame, while Gardner-Webb just put four shots on target in the match.
Both teams had four corner kicks apiece, while Winthrop held a slight 16-13 advantage in fouls on the night.
Al-Gashamy recorded his seventh assist of the season and led the Runnin' Bulldogs with two shots on goal. Both Hammersmark and Swaby each put a shot on goal, while Mafi led the offensive charge with four shots overall for the match.
For Winthrop, Obougou led the way with nine shots, four of which were on goal, while Brundle chipped in with five shots, two of which were on frame.
Gardner-Webb (9-6-1, 6-3-0 Big South) will close out its 2013 regular season on Saturday night, November 2nd, at home versus the High Point Panthers at 7 p.m. Winthrop (9-6-1, 3-5-0 Big South) will return home to host the Radford Highlanders on Saturday night, November 2nd, at 6 p.m. in Rock Hill, S.C.
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| Box Score: Gardner-Webb 1, Winthrop 0 |
