CONWAY, S.C. --- Raygan Hall (Cleveland, Tenn.) and Alex Fusco (Marietta, Ga.) recorded season-highs of 15 saves and five points, respectively, to lead the way for Gardner-Webb on Friday evening, as Coastal Carolina rallied for a 17-7 Big South Conference victory after outscoring the Runnin' Bulldogs, 9-4, in the second half.
Gardner-Webb (0-15, 0-5 Big South) won the battle on the ground by a 21-17 margin, including a 10-7 advantage in ground balls in the second half, as Coastal Carolina (8-5, 3-2 Big South) controlled 24-of-27 draws on the night. The Runnin' Bulldogs converted 12-of-17 clear attempts while forcing 17 Coastal turnovers.
Fusco led the way for Gardner-Webb with five points, scoring a hat trick and dishing out two assists while also accounting for two ground balls and two draw controls. Lindsey Lippert (Syracuse, N.Y.) tallied two goals, while Cassidy McDowell (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Destiny Mead (Palm Harbor, Fla.) each added a strike. McDowell also dished out an assist.
Monique Martin (Tyngsborough, Mass.) tallied a game-high seven ground balls to go along with three caused turnovers, while Hall made a season-best 15 saves.
Keri White paced the Chanticleers with five goals and two assists, while Maggie Carr added two strikes and a game-high four assists. Alicia Geiter, Sophie Crowther and Jen Cosgrove each chipped in two goals, while Maddie Ciardi registered a game-high nine draw controls. Jenna Stover made nine saves.
Gardner-Webb jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the opening eight minutes, when Fusco scored from a free position shot before setting up Lippert's sixth goal of the season at the 22:55 mark. Coastal would respond with six goals over the next 11 minutes, claiming a 6-2 advantage following White's third strike of the day with 11:29 left in the half.
Fusco answered at the 9:48 mark, trimming the margin to 6-3 with her second of the evening. The Chanticleers countered with two goals at the 7:59 and 7:03 marks, pushing the advantage to 8-3.
The Runnin' Bulldog defense clamped down in a big way, holding the Chanticleers scoreless for the final seven minutes of the first half and the opening nine minutes of the second, posting their longest shutout streak of the season at 16:03.
Gardner-Webb's attacking corps took advantage of its teammates' stellar play, cutting the lead to 8-5 with man-up goals by Mead and McDowell in the early moments of the second half. Coastal would answer with six goals within a 10-minute span, pushing the margin to 14-6 as Fusco tallied her third of the evening at the 16:08 mark for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
The Chanticleers added a trio of strikes in the final 10 minutes, stretching the advantage to double digits (16-6) for the first time with 7:34 to play following a goal from Kasey Greise. Crowther pushed the margin to 17-6 at the 3:43 mark before Lippert capped the scoring with 1:50 left on the clock.
Gardner-Webb is back in action on Sunday when the Runnin' Bulldogs travel to Buies Creek, N.C. to take on Campbell in Big South play at 2:00 pm.
