BOILING SPRINGS --- Alex Fusco (Marietta, Ga.) tallied a season-high seven points with four goals and three assists, Raygan Hall (Cleveland, Tenn.) made 10 saves, and captain Lindsey Lippert (Syracuse, N.Y.) scored with 6:27 to play to lift Gardner-Webb to its first win in program history with a 13-12 victory over Presbyterian in Big South Conference play on Friday evening.
With the win, Gardner-Webb (1-15, 1-6 Big South) earns the seventh seed in next week's Big South Conference Tournament, and will face second-seeded Liberty on Tuesday, April 28 at 4:00 pm in Lynchburg, Va.
The Runnin' Bulldogs scored a season-high 13 goals on 20 shots, while converting 18-of-23 clearing attempts and scooping up 25 ground balls compared to 18 for Presbyterian (3-13, 0-7 Big South). The Blue Hose controlled 20-of-28 draws on the night, as Gardner-Webb converted on 5-of-6 free position attempts.
Fusco led the way for Gardner-Webb with season-highs of four goals, three assists and six draw controls, as Lippert, Cassidy McDowell (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Amanda Steinmuller (Ellicott, Maryland) each added two goals. Steinmuller, Lippert and Monique Martin (Tyngsborough, Mass.) also tallied an assist on the night, as Destiny Mead (Palm Harbor, Fla.) and Martin both scooped up five ground balls.
Hall put together one of her best individual performances of the season, making several key saves down the stretch – including multiple free position stops – en route to a 10-save effort to go along with four ground balls. Martin, Lippert, Mead and Lexi Kasofsky (Gilbert, Ariz.) each caused two turnovers.
Katy Richardson paced the Blue Hose with four goals and a game-high four assists, as Lauren Schaaf added four strikes of her own on just four shots. Claire Frase chipped in two goals and three draw controls, while Amanda Lindsey controlled a game-high seven draws. Lee-Ann Salim and Sophia Cuzzupe combined for three saves between the pipes.
Neither team held more than a three-goal lead at any point during the game, as the squads combined for 69 fouls and five yellow cards in a physical and tightly contested affair.
Presbyterian snatched the momentum in the early moments, taking a 2-1 lead through Kathleen Gerrits at the 21:57 mark before Gardner-Webb responded, scoring four of the next five goals to open a 5-3 advantage following a strike from McDowell with 19:19 left in the first half.
The Blue Hose fought back, evening the tally at 7-7 with four of the next six to knot the score with 5:17 to play in the period. Mead would answer for the Runnin' Bulldogs just before the break, scoring from a free position shot with 55 ticks left to send Gardner-Webb into halftime with an 8-7 lead.
The Runnin' Bulldogs carried the momentum into the second half, scoring twice within the opening three and a half minutes to push the margin to 10-7, when Lippert fed Steinmuller for a man-down goal and her second of the day at the 26:46 mark.
Frase responded for Presbyterian moments later, controlling the ensuing draw and sprinting down the middle for the goal to kick-start a 5-0 spurt for the Blue Hose, which gave them a 12-10 lead with 16:35 to play. Gardner-Webb refused to give in, cutting the margin to 12-11 on a Fusco free position goal at the 11:54 mark.
Steinmuller and Hubbard then combined for one of the best goals of the season for Gardner-Webb at the 7:40 mark, with Steinmuller finding Hubbard alone in front, putting her teammate in perfect position to turn and fire into the top corner for her second goal of the season to knot the score at 12-12.
Lippert tallied the eventual winning strike moments later, finding the bottom corner from just inside the eight-meter arc to give the Runnin' Bulldogs a 13-12 advantage with 6:27 to play. Presbyterian made a strong push over the final six minutes but Hall and the GWU defense stood tall, as Hall made three key saves in the final four minutes to preserve her team's one-goal lead.
The Blue Hose came within an officiating decision of forcing overtime with 28 seconds left after their tying goal was disallowed due to an illegal stick. The Runnin' Bulldogs needed to simply run out the clock from there, clinching the program's first-ever victory and first in Big South play.
Seventh-seeded Gardner-Webb will travel to Lynchburg, Va. on Tuesday, April 28 to take on second-seeded Liberty in the quarterfinal round of the Big South Tournament at 4:00 pm.
