BOILING SPRINGS --- Junior Craig Swaby (Ware, England) tallied two goals and two assists in only 50 minutes of action on Wednesday afternoon, as Gardner-Webb scored four goals in an eight-minute span to defeat NCAA Division II Brevard College by a score line of 5-1 in non-conference play.
Gardner-Webb (2-8-1) controlled the run of play for much of the match, peppering Brevard's net with 25 shots, including a 12-2 advantage in attempts at goal in the second half. The Runnin' Bulldogs also held a 9-2 edge in corners.
Swaby provided much of the attacking firepower for the Runnin' Bulldogs in the match, recording career highs of two goals and two assists on five shots, including four on frame.
Ali Al-Gashamy (Kristiansand, Norway) added one goal and two assists, as Sami Jilla (Charlotte, N.C.) also tallied one goal and one assist. Filipe Conceicao (Sao Paulo, Brazil) netted his second goal of the season to round out the scorers for Gardner-Webb. William Liles (Bailey, N.C.) got the start in goal and made two saves, while Nathan Cook (Casar, N.C.) added a stop in 15 minutes of action.
Camilo Sosa scored the lone goal of the match for Brevard, as Sergi Monso added an assist with two shots, both on frame. Heath Turner made nine saves in the contest.
Al-Gashamy nearly got the Runnin' Bulldogs off to a flying start in the first minute, making a run down the center and forcing a tough save by Turner before his fourth-minute chip narrowly missed the bar from 25 yards out. Alejandro Rivillas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) nearly got on the score sheet in the 10th minute, running onto a cross from Jilla and delivering a solid strike right at the keeper from the top of the box.
Perhaps Brevard's best chance of the first half came in the 14th minute, when Monso cut in from the flank and forced Liles into a diving stop with a curling effort to the far post.
Al-Gashamy would break the deadlock in the 43rd minute, hesitating over a cross from Swaby before poking the finish past the keeper for his fifth goal of the season and a 1-0 Gardner-Webb lead.
Brevard drew level in the 59th minute, when Monso made a run along the end line and fed Sosa for the close range finish to knot the score at 1-1. Gardner-Webb answered less than four minutes later, reclaiming the lead at 2-1 after Jilla delivered an easy finish into the bottom corner off a perfectly weighted through ball from Al-Gashamy.
Swaby doubled the advantage margin to two right on the turn of the 65th minute after Al-Gashamy's parried effort fell to him just shy of the penalty spot. Conceicao stretched the lead to 4-1 in the 69th, slotting the finish inside the far post after a lovely combination between Jilla and Swaby. The Runnin' Bulldogs capped the day's scoring less than 90 seconds later, pushing the margin to 5-1 when Swaby sent a splendid volley into the far corner off a cross from Al-Gashamy for his second of the day.
Gardner-Webb returns to the pitch on Saturday when the Runnin' Bulldogs host Campbell to resume their Big South Conference schedule at 6:00 p.m. on Greene-Harbison Field.
