BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs suffered their first Big South Conference setback of 2019 on Saturday evening, falling to the High Point Panthers, 1-0.
"We struggled to get quality looks tonight, and that makes it tough to win," said head coach Tony Setzer. That's a credit to High Point for limiting our attack. We gave them too many shots, and they took advantage of that with a late goal."
High Point (7-5, 3-0 Big South) used a goal in the 78th minute to hand Gardner-Webb its first loss in league play. The Panthers' Ilias Kosmidis stole the ball from a Runnin' Bulldog and fired a strike from just inside the 18 to give his team the lead.
Gardner-Webb (6-5-1, 3-1 Big South) took eight shots on the night but were unable to place any on target. The 'Dogs did have a chance to take an early lead when Simen Olsen headed the ball towards the net from inside the six, but his attempt landed just wide of the goal.
The Runnin' Bulldogs' two other shots in the first half – one by Pedro Benito and one by Dorian Samo – were high of the net.
Daniel Husa was busy in the cage for Gardner-Webb in the first half as he stopped all four of the Panthers' attempts on goal. The sophomore from Begen, Norway made the four saves in a span of 10:30 to keep the visitors off the scoreboard.
At the intermission, Gardner-Webb and High Point were scoreless.
In the second half, Husa made two saves in the first 2:50 of the period. His seventh and final stop of the night came in the 68th minute.
The Runnin' Bulldogs had just four chances to score in the second half, compared to nine for the Panthers'
After High Point scored in the 78th minute, the 'Dogs spent the next 12 minutes trying to equalize. 30 seconds after Kosmidis gave the Panthers the lead, Hendrik Kortgodde had his shot blocked by a Panthers defender, but it was three minutes later that Gardner-Webb gave High Point a scare.
With just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Dylan Dominguez fired a strke from the left side of the field that was headed for the upper 90. His shot curved away at the last minute and landed wide of the goal, allowing High Point maintained its lead.
Dominguez's attempt was Gardner-Webb's final shot of the night as the Panthers held on for the one-goal victory.
While High Point held an 19-8 lead in shots, they also earned 12 corners. Gardner-Webb's Oskar Wang took the Runnin' Bulldogs lone corner.
In goal, Husa made seven stops. For the week, he went 1-1 overall, earning a victory against USC Upstate on Tuesday night. He also made seven stops against the Spartans.
The 'Dogs will return to action next week with a pair of away matches. First, Gardner-Webb will head to Buies Creek, N.C. on Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. battle with Big South leader Campbell. On Saturday, October 19, they will play a non-conference match at UAB at 8 p.m.
