BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – For the second straight year, the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs and Radford Highlanders will meet in the Big South Conference women's soccer championship.

Gardner-Webb enters the winner-take-all finale with a 10-10-1 mark. En route to the championship, the 'Dogs defeated the No. 5 Winthrop Eagles in the quarterfinals and knocked off top-seeded High Point in Thursday's semifinals.  

The Runnin' Bulldogs rallied past the Eagles, 2-1, on November 1 in front of the home crowd thanks to goals by Alisha Holcombe and Jada Newton. Holcombe's first goal of the season came off a pass from Newton and put the 'Dogs on top in the seventh minute, but 15 minutes later the Eagles' Allie Thomas equalized. In the 87th minute, Newton took away any thoughts of overtime when she received a pass from Aubrie Jackson in the box and scored her sixth goal of the year to send Gardner-Webb to the semifinals.

In the semifinals, Gardner-Webb's leading goal scorer and First-Team All-Big South honoree Stina Kleppe scored the contest's lone goal in the 47^th minute. Newton was credited with the assist and has played a role in all four of the Runnin' Bulldogs' wins in tournament play. Katelyn Kellogg made four saves in goal, including a leaping save in the 33rd minute and a final stop with 30 seconds remaining to eliminate the Panthers of High Point. 

Radford enters the championship with a 15-5 overall record and knocked off No. 6 Longwood in the quarterfinals and used a come-from-behind double overtime victory over No. 2 Campbell in the second semifinal match on Friday night to reach the final match of the tournament for the second time in as many seasons.

In the quarterfinals, the Highlanders jumped out to a 3-0 lead after 62:13. Longwood scored 41 seconds after Radford took a 3-0 lead and added a second goal in the 76^th minute, but the Highlanders survived the upset bid.

Radford faced a 2-0 deficit in the semifinals with less than 30 minutes remaining in regulation but used two goals in 20 minutes to tie the match at two, and the Highlanders held the Fighting Camels scoreless to force overtime. Nelia Perez scored her 11^th goal of the 2019 season in the third minute of the final overtime period to send Radford to Sunday's championship match.

The Runnin' Bulldogs and Highlanders have split the last two regular season meetings with each team winning on their home field. Gardner-Webb was victorious, 2-1, in 2018, while Radford kept the 'Dogs off the scoreboard with a 2-0 win less than a month ago.

Sunday will be the third meeting in the Big South tournament between the two squads. In the first meeting, Gardner-Webb defeated Radford in the 2010 quarterfinals, while Radford won the 2018 championship.

This is Gardner-Webb's third Big South championship appearance (2010, 2018, 2019), but the 'Dogs are seeking their first conference title. Radford tied the league record with its sixth Big South crown last season and is searching for a league-best seventh championship trophy on Sunday.

Sunday's championship will be the first time since 2012 that the No. 4 seed has played in the tournament finale, while the last appearance for a No. 3 seed came in 2017. 

The championship match is set for a 2 p.m. start at the Sportsplex at Matthews just outside of Charlotte, N.C. For those unable to attend, all the action can be seen live on ESPN+ with Brock Bowling and Sari Rose on the call.