Five Runnin' Bulldogs Receive All-Big South Honors
October 31, 2019 | Women's Soccer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Big South Conference announced the women's soccer All-Conference teams today, which featured five Runnin' Bulldogs, including First-Team honorees Stina Kleppe and Maddie Turlington.
In addition to Kleppe and Turlington being selected as First-Team All-Conference student-athletes, Jada Newton, Kylie Ameres and Jaasiel Forde were named Honorable Mention All-Big South.
Kleppe (Skien, Norway / Dahlske Videregaende Skole), a midfielder, became a four-time All-Big South Conference selection with her First-Team All-Big South honor this season. For her career, she has appeared in 78 matches to date with 77 starts. She has scored 26 goals, with all but four coming in her junior and senior campaigns. Each of the past two years, Kleppe has netted 11 goals, and as a senior she has added five assists for 27 total points. Five of her goals have been game-winners, and she is a perfect 3-for-3 on penalty kicks. Kleppe has had two multi-goal performances this season – first against Georgia Southern (Aug. 30) – and again in the Runnin' Bulldogs' final non-conference match of the year – a 3-1 win over South Carolina State (Sept. 20).
Kleppe ended the regular season by recording a point in four of the season's last five matches. She scored against Presbyterian (Oct. 12), UNC Asheville (Oct. 16) and Longwood (Oct. 26), while recording an assist against USC Upstate (Oct. 18). Among the Big South's leaders, Kleppe is second in goals (11), third in game-winning goals (5), points (27) and points per game (1.42) and fourth in goals per game (0.579).
Kleppe also earned a spot on the Big South's All-Academic team for the second straight year. She will graduate in May with a degree in Biology and has a 3.79 cumulative GPA.
Turlington (Roanoke, Texas / Byron Nelson HS) was named to an All-Conference team for the second time in as many years. Last season, the forward made the All-Freshman team, while she took home First-Team All-Big South honors as a sophomore.
Turlington appeared in 18 matches during the regular season and scored five goals while adding a team-high eight assists. Her 18 points were second only to Kleppe's 27.
In Gardner-Webb's final four matches of the season, she scored twice and assisted on four goals for eight points. On October 21, she was named the Big South Conference's Attacking Player of the Week.
In a wins over UNC Asheville (Oct. 16) and USC Upstate (Oct. 19) she played a role in all five of Gardner-Webb's goals. In a 2-0 win over in-state rival UNC Asheville, she assisted on Kleppe's game-winner and added an insurance goal in the 80th minute. Three days later at USC Upstate, she put the 'Dogs on the board in the fourth minute and assisted on the Runnin' Bulldogs' final two goals, including Jada Newton's game-winner in the 60th minute.
Turlington appears in the top-10 in four statistical categories among Big South student-athletes. Her eight assists place her fourth, while her average of 0.444 per game is good for fifth overall. She sits seventh in points (18) and points per game (1.00).
Newton (Woodbridge, Va. / Osborn Park HS) also appears on an All-Conference team for the second straight year as a forward. After earning All-Freshman honors in 2018, she was named to the All-Big South Honorable Mention team in 2019.
Despite missing three Big South matches for international duty, Newton still finished third on the team with 11 points (Five goals and an assist). Three of her five goals came in non-conference action as she scored in contests against Western Carolina (Aug. 25), ETSU (Sept. 1) and Mercer (Sept. 6).
Newton also netted a goal in a 3-1 win over Winthrop on September 25, Gardner-Webb's first Big South contest of the season, and then departed for Kingston, Jamaica where she represented the U.S. Virgin Islands Senior Women's National Team in the FIFA Olympic Qualifier.
When she returned, Newton made an impact in the Runnin' Bulldogs' 3-2 win at USC Upstate (Oct. 18). On a soggy Saturday afternoon, she assisted on Turlington's goal in the fourth minute and scored the eventual game-winner in the 60th minute from the top of the box.
Through two seasons in the red and black, Newton has appeared in 37 contests with 35 starts. She has scored 15 goals with 4-of-15 being game-winners and added one assist for 31 points.
Forde (Trinicity, Trinidad and Tobago / Bishop Anstey HS) was one of two defenders to earn Honorable Mention status from the league office. She appeared in 18 matches over the course of the regular season and earned the starting nod in all 18. She logged 1,604 minutes as an integral part of the Gardner-Webb back line and helped the 'Dogs shutout five opponents – all Big South foes.
Forde and the Gardner-Webb defense helped the team record back-to-back shutouts – at Presbyterian (Oct. 12) – and at home against in-state rival UNC Asheville (Oct. 16). To close out the season, the Runnin' Bulldogs earned a 1-0 shut out win over Longwood (Oct. 26) to clinch home field advantage for the upcoming Big South Quarterfinals.
In addition to her defensive assignments, Forde scored the game-winning goal Hampton on September 28, while assisting on a goal in non-conference action vs. Coastal Carolina.
Ameres (Palmetto, Fla. / Manatee HS) has experienced her best season as a Runnin' Bulldog during her senior year and received Honorable Mention accolades due to both her goal scoring and work as a defender.
She started all 19 matches in the regular season and helped Gardner-Webb hold five opponents scoreless in league play. Ameres recorded her first assist of the season in a win over Winthrop (Sept. 25) and scored her first career goal at Campbell (Oct. 2). Three matches later, she scored again, this netting the game-winner in a 2-0 victory over the Presbyterian College Blue Hose on October 12.
On October 18, she netted the equalizer at USC Upstate, sending a ball into the back of the net, past Upstate's Logan Pace in the 58th minute.
All eight of her points have come as a senior. For her career, she has appeared in 39 matches. Prior to her senior season, her 20 appearances were all as a reserve, but this season she has been in the starting lineup in each of Gardner-Webb's 19 contests.
The Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs will begin play in the conference tournament tomorrow, Friday, November 1 at 7 p.m. against the Winthrop Eagles. Tickets to the quarterfinal match in Greene-Harbison Stadium are $5 for adults and $2 for students. All the action can be seen live on ESPN+ with Fabian Fuentes and Brendan Boylan on the call.
