BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The No. 3 seeded Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs advanced to the Big South Conference semifinals by virtue of a 2-1 win over the Radford Highlanders on Sunday night.
Gardner-Webb (9-7-2, 5-2-1 Big South) battled the Highlanders to scoreless draw until the 40th minute, but took the lead before the intermission.
Five minutes prior to the half, Pedro Benito sent a ball to Oskar Wang. Wang passed the ball to Simen Olsen who netted his first goal of the season to give the 'Dogs the 1-0 lead.
At the half, Gardner-Webb led by a goal, and quickly added to its total when the final half began.
The Runnin' Bulldogs' Hendrik Kortgodde had the first attempt of the second half for Gardner-Webb. After he collected a pass from Laurits Lillemose, the freshman from Kaarst, Germany fired a strike from the left edge of the 18 into the net to give the 'Dogs a multi-goal lead.
After the Runnin' Bulldogs second goal, neither team took another shot until the 60th minute when the Highlanders pulled within goal. After the ball bounced around inside the 18, Radford's Octavio Ocampo gained possession from 12 yards out and fired a shot in the center of the box past Gardner-Webb's Daniel Husa. Ocampo's goal made it a 2-1 contest with 30 minutes remaining.
Radford had three additional opportunities to equalize late in the final half. Husa made saves in the 66th and 76th minutes, while senior captain Alain Delgado made a diving stop to clear a ball off the back line in the 85th minute.
After exiting for a jersey change, Delgado re-entered and made his presence known. To the fans inside Greene-Harbison, it looked as if Victor Valls' shot would sneak past Husa. As the ball streaked towards the net, Delgado slid and cleared the ball away with his right foot, sending it well away from the Radford attacking third.
The Highlanders were unable to get another attempt off over the final 5:22, and the Runnin' Bulldogs held on for the 2-1 quarterfinal victory.
Gardner-Webb took 10 shots while Radford attempt nine. Each squad placed four shots on goal. Olsen and Benito accounted for six of the 'Dogs' 10 attempts, while the Highlanders' Mouhameth Thiam took five of his team's nine shots.
In goal, Husa stopped Radford's Joseba Incera each  made two saves.
"I'm very proud of how we played tonight," said head coach Tony Setzer. "We took advantage of our opportunities and limited the number of quality looks that Radford had. We'll now get ready for a tough challenge against a good High Point squad."
With its 2-1 win Gardner-Webb advances to the semifinals of the Big South tournament for the first time since 2011. The 2011 squad made its way to the championship match where it fell to Liberty.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will travel to No. 2 High Point on Wednesday, November 13 at 7 p.m. for the semifinal match. The winner of the Gardner-Webb vs. High Point contest will face the victor of No. 5 Presbyterian at No. 1 Campbell in the winner-take-all championship match. The championship match is scheduled for Sunday, November 17 at 2 p.m. at the highest remaining seed.
