Women's Soccer Announces 2016 Schedule
June 07, 2016 | Women's Soccer
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.- Gardner-Webb head women's soccer coach, Mike Varga, has announced the team's 2016 schedule.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will play 19 total matches which includes matches against schools from the ACC, Big 10, Ivy League, Sun Belt, and the A-10. Gardner-Webb will play eight matches at Greene-Harbison Stadium, including just two home games in the months of August and September.
"The 2016 schedule will be challenging without a doubt. Our non-conference portion of the schedule will prepare us for the tough matches that we will face during Big South play," remarked Varga. "This is as tough a schedule as Gardner-Webb women's soccer has ever played and I know the team is up to the challenge and looking forward to the tests that lie ahead."
Gardner-Webb will fine-tune its tactics in a scrimmage against East Tennessee State on Aug. 13 and will kick off the 2016 campaign that following Friday (Aug. 19), when it welcomes Troy to Boiling Springs. One of two SunBelt opponents it will face in the upcoming season, Troy posted a 14-4-2 record in 2015, advancing to the conference tournament semifinals, where it fell in a shootout to Georgia State.
Two of the next three games for GWU will be on the road. Following the home-opener with the Trojans, the Runnin' Bulldogs will travel to College Park, Md to face Big 10 foe Maryland. It will be the first time in the Division I era (2000-Pres) that Gardner-Webb faces off against a member of the Big 10 conference.
After a five-day break, GWU returns to Boiling Springs to face Davidson (Aug. 26) and just two days later, takes the short trek to Spartanburg, S.C. to face USC Upstate. Gardner-Webb and Davidson will face-off for the first time since the 2006, while GWU and USC Upstate will face each other for a 10th-straight season.
To kick off the month of September, the Runnin' Bulldogs will have neutral site matches against New Hampshire (Sept. 2) and Dartmouth (Sept. 4), as part of the Wake Forest Tournament, located in Winston Salem, N.C. Both matches will be first-time opponents for Gardner-Webb.
Gardner-Webb returns to Boiling Springs for its only two home matches in September, welcoming South Carolina State (Sept. 7) and Appalachian State (Sept. 9). The Runnin' Bulldogs own winning records against both the Mountaineers as well as the Bulldogs. GWU owns a 3-2-1 record against App State and last faced the Mountains in 2010, playing to a 0-0 tie, while in the all-time matchup against S.C. State, Gardner-Webb posts a 4-1 record, but dropped a 2-0 decision against the Bulldogs in its most recent matchup between the two schools.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will play their final two non-conference games, facing off against North Carolina State (Sept. 11) and at Alabama State (Sept. 18), before opening up conference play Sept. 24 at Longwood.
After the matchup with the Lancers, GWU has road dates at Presbyterian (Sept. 28) and High Point (Oct. 1), before facing Liberty in its home-opener Oct. 5.
Three of the last five matches to end the season will be in Boiling Springs, while the Runnin' Bulldogs will play UNC Asheville (Oct. 12) and Winthrop (Oct. 12) in the final two road games.
Gardner-Webb finishes the regular-season with two-straight home games facing Charleston Southern (Oct. 19) and Campbell (Oct. 22) on Senior Day.
