BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Three unanswered goals, including two in the opening half, lifted Gardner-Webb past Alabama State, 3-1, for its first win of the 2018 season.

"Outside of the first seven minutes where we gave away the set piece that led to the goal, I thought we were pretty dominant," said head coach Mike Varga. "It's always good to get a win against a quality team like Alabama State and play a lot of players in the process."

Although Gardner-Webb (1-1 overall) would take 16 shots compared to just two for Alabama State (0-2 overall) in the opening half, it was the Hornets that took the early lead.

Less than eight minutes into the contest, Teaggan Ilela scored her first goal of the year to put the visitors in front, but the lead would not last long.

Following four unsuccessful shots after Alabama State took a 1-0 lead, Gardner-Webb's Aubrie Jackson scored almost immediately after entering the game. Jackson headed the ball into the net off a corner from Stina Kleppe for the equalizer in the 17^th minute.

The Runnin' Bulldogs would once again take four shots before finding the back of the net again 18 minutes later. This time, Ty Snell took a pass from Maddie Turlington and placed the ball into the upper, middle portion of the net. Snell's goal in the 35^th minute put the 'Dogs in front, 2-1, a lead which it took into the intermission.

Gardner-Webb opened the second half with two shots in the first three minutes and also recorded three corners. The shots would cease until the latter portion of the half when the Runnin' Bulldogs began threatening often.

Maddie Turlington had a pair of headers that were unsuccessful in the 71^st and 73^rd minutes respectively, but Jada Newton netted her second goal in as many games in the 76^th minute.

Newton received a pass from Gabby Berkes and made a move through a pair of Alabama State defenders into the box before scoring. Her goal gave the Runnin' Bullldogs some insurance, putting them ahead 3-1.

Over the final 15 minutes, Gardner-Webb did not allow Alabama State to get a shot off, and held them to just six shots over 90 minutes. The Runnin' Bulldogs took 25 shots, led by Newton with four. Kleppe, Snell and Jackson each took three shots. The 'Dogs took 11 corners in the match, something that senior Bailey Hierholzer sees as a bright spot.

"We had a lot of corners today," said Hierholzer. "There were some very close calls with our corners, so hopefully we can score off them as the season progresses."

26 players saw action for the Runnin' Bulldogs, including nine freshman.

"It's huge for the freshman to see such significant action," noted Varga. "They're all earning their playing time. We have a deep team, and our level of play stayed high no matter what the substitutions were. I'm very optimistic for the rest of the year."

In goal, Keely Brown played 82:40 and earned her first win of the 2018 season. Brown was credited with one save. Freshman Katelyn Kellogg closed out the contest in relief of Brown.

The Runnin' Bulldogs will return to action for another contest at Greene-Harbison Stadium on Friday, August 24 at 7 p.m. against Davidson.