MATTHEWS, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb women's soccer team fought 'til the very end, taking 11 total shots and seven on goal, but the top-seeded Radford Highlanders used an early goal to win the Big South Conference championship, 1-0.

It was the Runnin' Bulldogs first appearance in the Big South Championship since the 2011 season.

Three Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs – Keely Brown, Stina Kleppe and Callista Eckert – were named to the Big South All-Tournament team.

"We have tough players that want to win," said head coach Mike Varga. "They fought until the end, and I thought we had a great attack, especially in the final half. We just weren't able to put one in the net today."

Radford (16-2-1) took the first attempt of the match in the eighth minute. The shot off the foot of Nelia Perez got past Brown to give the Highlanders the early lead. Perez dribbled down the left side of the field, and as Brown moved towards the right post, Perez lobbed the ball from 15 yards out into the upper 90 for goal.

"We knew going into the match that Perez is a dangerous player with a ball at her feet," Varga said. "She beat us and had a nice finish to the back post. Honestly, I felt like if we could limit them to one goal we'd have a pretty good chance. We couldn't equalize, and it just wasn't our day."

Following the goal, the Runnin' Bulldogs would threaten heavily for 10 minutes.

Gardner-Webb's (12-5-4) first attempt came immediately following Radford's score, as Maddie Turlington sent a shot over the top of the net.

In the 11^th minute, a foul in the box gave Kleppe a chance to equalize via a penalty kick, but Radford's Courtenay Kaplan made a diving stop to her right to keep the 'Dogs scoreless.

Turlington would fire two consecutive shots on goal before the Highlanders cleared the ball to their attacking third and fired a strike of their own, but it was saved by Brown. Brown would save three shots in the match, all in the first half.

For Gardner-Webb, Kleppe took its final attempt on goal of the half in the 23^rd minute.

The 'Dogs headed to the intermission down by a single goal.

In the second period, the two teams combined for nine shots, with Gardner-Webb being outshot by a single attempt, 5-4.

Kleppe nearly found the equalizer just 12 minutes into the half, but Kaplan made one of her seven shots to preserve the lead for the Highlanders.

Five minutes later, Jada Newton attempted to do like she did in the semifinal victory against USC Upstate and net a crucial goal, but her attempt wound up in the hands of Kaplan who sent the ball high into the skies to Radford's half of the pitch.

Gardner-Webb would go more than 10 minutes without a shot on goal until Ty Snell had a look from inside the six with less than 15 minutes remaining. Snell's attempt was once again gobbled up by Kaplan who recorded a shutout in Radford's victory.

With 90 seconds on the clock, the coaching staff sent Brown out of the goal and to midfield as the attack was on in full force.

Turlington had her attempt blocked, and the Runnin' Bulldogs earned two corners, including one with less than a minute, but they were unable to convert. A late goal kick by the Highlanders allowed the top seeded team to send the ball out of bounds in the final seconds to seal 1-0 victory over Gardner-Webb.

The Runnin' Bulldogs end the 2018 with a 12-5-4 record. The team matched its highest win total since the 2009 season. Radford improves to 16-2-1 and has now won 11 consecutive contests. The Highlanders earned the Big South's automatic bid to the NCAA Women's College Cup and will find out their opponent during the selection show tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.

Statistically, Kleppe led Gardner-Webb with 11 goals and 28 points, while Turlington was the team leader in assists with nine. In goal, Brown stopped 85 shots in 21 matches and recorded four clean sheets. She finishes her career in the red and black with a program record 20 shutouts and 401 saves.