WASHINGTON – Gardner-Webb (3-3) scored four goals in the final 2:53 of the fourth quarter and the Runnin' Bulldogs powered past George Washington (1-4) on Monday afternoon from Mount Vernon Lacrosse Field in Washington, D.C., 12-8.
 
Gardner-Webb scored the opening two goals of the game in the first quarter off scores from Lauren Deaver and Jada Preston, and the 'Dogs refused to look back, never trailing at any point en route to their first road victory of the season.
 
Danielle Burke starred in cage for GWU, registering a career-high 17 saves on 25 shots on goal while turning away a pair of key shots in the final minutes as George Washington pressed to make a late charge.  
 
Talen Francis scored a game-high four goals on four shots, surpassing Amanda Steinmuller in the process for the most points in program history. Lauren Deaver and Bria Foley each added two goals for the Runnin' Bulldogs, and Jessica Vetter, Aimie Perino and Maddie Martin each tallied one apiece to round out the afternoon's scoring.  
 
With her third draw control win of the day, Martin also surpassed Francis for the school's career record in draw controls.  
 
After taking a 4-2 lead after the first quarter, both defenses locked down in the second quarter with Deaver's goal with 5:36 left being the only score that either team allowed. Heading into the half, the Runnin' Bulldogs lead was three, 5-2.  
 
The Colonials scored two goals in the final 1:36 of the third period to cut the GWU lead back down to two, but Burke was able to make a save on a last-second shot to keep the score at 7-5 heading into the final 15.
 
While Francis put home her second goal of the game, George Washington managed to score with 3:47 left in the match to tie the game at 8 for the first time since it had started 0-0.  
 
But over the last three minutes, Gardner-Webb finished strong and scored four goals to clinch its third win of the year and put the game out of reach for George Washington. Francis' free position opportunity put the team ahead for good with 2:53 left in the game. On the following possession, Burke came up with her 17^th save of the day with a kick save with 2:02 left on the clock. 
   
Grace Briggs and Lauren Connor led the Runnin' Bulldogs with two caused turnovers apiece. Francis, Martin, Deaver, Vetter, and Reese Jones had one each.  
 
Gardner-Webb will return to action on the road this Saturday, March 19 when it heads to Deland, Florida to take on Stetson University at noon.