BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Three different Gardner-Webb players scored as the Runnin' Bulldogs earned their second straight Big South Conference victory, 3-1, over the Presbyterian Blue Hose on Wednesday night.
"I was frustrated with us not putting away chances early in the first half, so I challenged them at the half to do a better job of that," said head coach
Mike Varga. "Scoring those two goals midway through the second half made us relax and allowed us to play a lot of players.
In the 19
th minute,
Maddie Turlington entered the contest, and four minutes later she sent a ball to
Jada Newton who dribbled just inside the 18 from straightaway center and placed a ball in the back of the net for the first goal of the match.
Newton's eighth goal of the season never went airborne as she kept the ball on the ground and placed it inside the left post.
In the 34
th and 35
th minutes, Gardner-Webb recorded a pair of shots on goal but could not extend its lead. First,
Erin Shamleffer had her second shot of the match saved, before
Abbey Smith nearly put a shot in the upper 90 from 20 yards out.
Smith fired a shot from the far left side of the field, but a diving stop by Presbyterian's Alyssa Leaman kept Gardner-Webb's advantage at 1-0. She took GWU's final shot on goal of the opening half as the home team took a one-goal lead into the break.
In the second period, the Runnin' Bulldogs came out firing with three shots in the first seven minutes, but could not place a shot in the back of the net.
It wasn't until the 72
nd minute that the home team scored as
Stina Kleppe netted her fifth goal of the year.
Ty Snell played a ball to Turlington who sent it to Kleppe, who was positioned in the middle of the box. Kleppe placed the ball inside the right post, giving the 'Dogs a 2-0 lead.
Less than 60 seconds later, Turlington added a goal of her own to give Gardner-Webb ample breathing room. The ball hit PC's Megan Serrano who had come out to try to defend Turlington's attempt. With an open goal, Turlington easily scored the Runnin' Bulldogs' third goal of the match.
Presbyterian scored in the 78
th minute to make it a 3-1 contest, but Gardner-Webb was victorious when the final horn sounded.
In all, 30 players saw action for the Runnin' Bulldogs with 15 logging 20 or more minutes.
"Experience is huge," said Varga. "It certainly boosts team morale. This group works very hard, so it was great to be able to get so many players in the match."
Gardner-Webb held a substantial advantage in shots, 16-8.
In goal,
Keely Brown stopped three of Presbyterian's shots, while
Katelyn Kellogg stopped one attempt in 8:49 of action in relief of Brown. PC's Alyssa Leaman earned the start and stopped four of Gardner-Webb's shots.
The Runnin' Bulldogs improve to 7-4-3 with the win and picked up their fourth win of conference play. PC falls to 6-6 overall and 1-5 in BSC action.
Gardner-Webb will return to action on Saturday, October 14 for a 2 p.m. contest at Longwood.Â
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