BOILING SPRINGS --- Amanda Steinmuller (Ellicott, Md.) scored four goals and Emma Rufolo (Woodstock, Md.) and Alex Fusco (Marietta, Ga.) each recorded a hat trick, as Gardner-Webb used two late strikes to edge Radford for a 14-13 Big South Conference victory on Wednesday evening at Spangler Stadium.
Gardner-Webb (3-7, 1-1 Big South) set a pair of single-game program records in the contest with 33 shots and 19 draw controls, as the Runnin' Bulldogs outshot Radford (1-8, 0-2 Big South) by a 33-24 margin and won the battle on the ground, 29-19. The Highlanders converted 8-of-13 free position attempts and 13-of-17 clears; Gardner-Webb finished the game 8-of-11 on clearing attempts and 19-of-29 in draw controls.
Steinmuller paced the Runnin' Bulldogs with a career-high four goals – all in the first half – as Rufolo chipped in three goals, five draw controls and four ground balls. Fusco pushed her program-record season total to 23 goals with her fourth hat trick of the season, while Sadie Bryant (Charlottesville, Va.) posted seven draw controls to go along with one goal and one assist.
Austyn Gorksi (Lawrenceville, Ga.) recorded a career-high four points with two goals and two assists, as Emma Rose (Weston, Fla.) tallied one goal and one assist. Cassidy McDowell (Cincinnati, Ohio) made seven saves and scooped up three ground balls.
Emma Rogers and Adrian Rius led the way for Radford with four goals each, as Callie Bonnel and Gracie Peterson both added two strikes. Juliette Ruland recorded a team-high five draw controls to go along with one goal and two assists, while Hannah Rosen posted 14 saves and four ground balls.
The teams traded tallies through the first eight minutes of the game, before Gardner-Webb scored four straight goals to open the largest lead of the game – 7-3 – for either squad through Gorski's first of the day at the 15:51 mark. Radford quickly countered with four of the next six goals, trimming the margin to 9-7 on Peterson's strike with 1:31 on the clock.
Bryant and Rose answered for the Runnin' Bulldogs just over a minute later, sending Gardner-Webb into the break with a 10-7 advantage when Bryant fed Rose for her fifth strike of the season with 20 seconds on the clock.
Bryant extended the margin to 11-7 at the 28:15 mark of the second half with a free position strike, before Bonnel and Fusco traded tallies to give Gardner-Webb a 12-8 advantage with 23:45 to play. Radford responded with five straight goals over the next 17 minutes – including three straight from Rogers – as the Highlanders took their first lead of the day, 13-12, through Rius' third with 6:03 left on the clock.
A perfectly executed break in the action from Gardner-Webb turned the tide moments later, as the Runnin' Bulldogs scored twice in a 33-second span to reclaim the lead, 14-13. Gorski played a part in both goals, feeding Rufolo for the tying strike at the 4:55 mark before netting the eventual winner with her seventh of the season with 4:22 to play.
Two Radford yellow cards in the waning moments sealed the victory for the Runnin' Bulldogs, as Gardner-Webb utilized the two-man advantage to perfection and maintained possession through much of the final 90 seconds to close out the narrow one goal win.
Gardner-Webb returns to action on Saturday when the Runnin' Bulldogs travel to Farmville, Va. to take on Longwood in Big South play at 1:00 pm.
