BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Career day for Talen Francis lead Gardner-Webb to the season-opening 19-6 victory over Wofford on Monday afternoon. Francis ended the day with eight points, four goals, and four assists, a career-high.
 
"I was very happy to have our first game back," said Head Coach Jessie Aguglia. "Saw a lot of really good things and some things we can work on in the days ahead. We were excited about how the freshmen played today after missing their senior high school seasons. They all came ready to contribute and help the team out all over the field."
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs jumped to an early 7-0 lead, four off free position goals. The first goal came less than thirty seconds into the game. The Runnin' Bulldogs never surrendered the advantage, leading for the remaining 59:35 of the game.
 
Hannah Smith scored the first two goals of the day, both were unassisted. Jada Preston scored the next two, both off free position goals, pushing the lead to 4-0. Francis started her scoring 18 seconds later, the first was unassisted and the second was off a free position. Megan Trout's goal at the 19:39 minute mark pushed the lead to 7-0. The Runnin' Bulldogs kept the shutout for the first 11 minutes of the match until Shannon Wolff's goal at the 18:35 mark in the first half.
 
Francis tallied her third goal of the day off an assist from Eilish Gately. Back-to-back goals from Preston and Gately pushed the 'Dogs lead to 10-2. Gately scored her second goal of the day off a Francis assist at the 8:25 mark in the first half. Aimie Perino's pass to Hailey Carroll pushed the lead to 12-5 as the first half ended. This marked the first career goal for Carroll and first career assist for Perino.
 
Two minutes into the second half, Gately assisted on the fourth Francis goal of the day. Preston scored the next goal off a dish from Francis to put the score at 14-5.
 
A Wofford goal at the 20:40 mark was the last goal for the Terriers scored, allowing five more Gardner-Webb goals before the match's conclusion. The five goals were scored by Hannah Smith (2), Jessica Vetter, Hailey Maranto, and Preston.
 
Kathleen Mackey, a freshman, started between the pipes for the 'Dogs making seven saves. She faced six free-position shots and only allowed one of these opportunities to hit the back of the net on the day.
 
Gardner-Webb was able to set a clear advantage in draw controls, winning 19 of 26 of them. Maddie Martin led the team with a spectacular 15 draw controls. Francis and Perino also had two apiece.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs had a 30-19 advantage in groundballs. Francis led the team with six, and Martin had five. Janice Donaldson finished with three. Preston, Gately, Smith, and Brittany Sherrod had two. Mackey, Vetter, Perino, Maranto, Caroll, Emily Rowell, and Jayla Middlebrooks ended the day with one.
 
Wofford committed 17 turnovers, 14 of which were caused turnovers. Francis paced the team with four, and Gately was next on the team with three. Martin and Heather Lobas each caused two. Mackey, Carroll, and Victoria Fischetti caused one apiece.
 
Gardner-Webb was able to convert on 9-10 of their clears while forcing the Terriers into mistakes on eight of their 20 clear attempts.

Preston led the team with five goals scored. Francis and Smith each scored four. Gately scored two, and Vetter, Maranto, Trout, and Carroll each scoring one. 
 
The win puts Gardner-Webb at 1-0 on the season, extending the team's win streak to five games, dating back to the previous season. The Runnin' Bulldogs have also won all their past four matches at home. The win marked the second season-opening victory for the Runnin' Bulldogs in the program's history.
 
Next up for the team are road matches this weekend. On Friday, the 26th, the team travels to Ohio to play Akron with a start at 3:00 p.m. The weekend concludes with a matchup at Robert Morris with first draw scheduled for noon.