BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Maddie Turlington netted a goal in the second minute, and a pair of goals by Stina Kleppe in the final 15 minutes led the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs past the South Carolina Bulldogs, 3-1, Friday night.

"Stina gave us a goal when we needed it, and I thought after that we took a deep breath and started playing more relaxed," said head coach Mike Varga. "I told them (at the half) to relax, play within themselves and trust their teammates. I thought we did that better in the second half.

Gardner-Webb (1-7-1) got on the board in the second minute when Turlington took a pass from Alisha Holcombe and dribbled from outside the 18 into the box. She fired a shot past South Carolina State's Louisa Marschhausen to put the 'Dogs in front.

The Runnin' Bulldogs managed four more attempts to bring their total to five through the first 21 minutes, but Paula Suarez Is was busy in goal for GWU, stopping a pair of South Carolina State attempts in that time frame.

South Carolina State (1-6-0) netted the equalizer in the 37^th minute when Jordan Crawford received a pass from Tristen Kelly. A low shot deflected off an SC State player and past Suarez Is.

In the final eight minutes of the first half, the Runnin' Bulldogs had four chances to score, but only Alli Varga's attempt was on target, and the two teams went to the intermission tied at one.

Gardner-Webb outshot the Bulldogs of South Carolina State, 6-2, through the first 30 minutes of the second period, but did not place any attempts on target.

With the score knotted at one and less than 15 minutes on the clock, Kleppe became the talk of the match with her two goals – her fourth and fifth of her senior season respectively. Kleppe scored her first goal of the match in the 76^th minute off a free kick. She placed the ball on the right side of the field just outside the 18 and scorched one into the upper 90 to put the 'Dogs on top.

Just 7:10 later, Anna Fish sent a ball to Kleppe, who converted for the second time on the night. Her insurance goal gave Gardner-Webb a 3-1 lead, and Suarez Is saved South Carolina State's final attempt on target to preserve the 3-2 win.

The Runnin' Bulldogs held a 20-10 advantage in shots and put seven shots on goal. SCSU took 10 shots with half being on target. Suarez Is made four saves and picked up her first win, while South Carolina State's Marschhausen made three stops.

With the non-conference portion of the schedule now complete, the Runnin' Bulldogs will turn their attention to Big South play and the Winthrop Eagles. The 'Dogs will host the Eagles on Wednesday, September 25. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and all the action can be seen live on ESPN+ with Fabian Fuentes and Brendan Boylan on the call.