MATTHEWS, N.C. – Stina Kleppe scored the game-winning goal in the 47th minute, and Katelyn Kellogg stopped four shots to send Gardner-Webb to the championship match for the second straight season thanks to a 1-0 win over the High Point Panthers.
"We came in with a plan, and I am so proud of how we executed the game plan," said head coach Mike Varga. "High Point is a very talented team, and we were able to stay disciplined and score at a crucial time. The first goal in this match was pivotal, and Stina is the player we want in front of goal. It was a great win for the teaam, and we know we still have work to do."
Gardner-Webb (10-10-1) placed three shots on goal in the first 17 minutes, but all were saved by High Point's Talia Klimes.
High Point (10-7-2) began to control the pace around the midway point of the first half, but only had one shot on goal through the first 35 minutes.
Emma Schossler attempted to head the ball past Kellogg into the upper 90 in the 33rd minute, but Kellogg leapt to her left to save the attempt and keep the game scoreless.
After 45 minutes, the two teams headed to the locker rooms scoreless, but the tie was quickly broken when the second half began.
Kleppe broke the tie in the 47th minute to give Gardner-Webb a 1-0 lead, which it never relinquished. Sophomore Jada Newton was credited with the assist.
67 seconds after Kleppe's goal, the Runnin' Bulldogs' back line cleared away a shot on the net to kept High Point off the scoreboard.
Newton attempted to make it 2-0 in the 49th minute, but it sailed over the crossbar, and neither team attempted a shot until 66th minute when Shayln Owens of High Point sent an attempt high.
The Panthers turned up the pressure and threatened with the clock under 10 minutes, forcing Kellogg to make a pair of saves in the cage. Kellogg saved Lauren Mazich's shot at the 82-minute mark and came up big with 28 seconds remaining, stopping an attempt of the foot of Sydney Colby and punting the ball to the Gardner-Webb side of the field.
Gardner-Webb was outshout, 13-7, but placed five shots on target compared to four by the Panthers.
The 1-0 win locks Gardner-Webb into the winner-take-all championship match for the second season in a row. Last season, the 'Dogs were the #2Â seed and fell to #1Â Radford in the finals. The 'Dogs will battle Radford in the 2019 championship as well since Radford rallied, scoring three unanswered goals to defeat Campbell, 3-2, in overtime.
The championship match is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 10 at the Sportsplex in Matthews, N.C. The winner receives the Big South Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
