HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb lacrosse team closed out its historic season on Friday afternoon, falling to top-seeded High Point in the Big South Conference Championship semifinals, 25-15, from Vert Stadium.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (10-9) finished their 2022 campaign with the most wins in program history (10), the most wins all-time in league play (5) and the team's first postseason win in its eight-year history to earn a Big South semifinals appearance as the No. 5 seed.
Gardner-Webb's career points leader,
Jada Preston, led the GWU charge with four goals and one assist, while seven different 'Dawgs registered scores on the afternoon.
Brittany Sherrod and
Eilish Gately each posted three,
Aimie Perino added two and
Lauren Deaver,
Jessica Vetter and
Bria Foley all finished with one for the Runnin' Bulldogs, who rounded out the afternoon with 24 shots, 20 of which went on cage.
Fresh off a thrilling 15-14 upset over No. 4 Campbell in the first round, Gardner-Webb allowed a pair of goals early in the first quarter that the 'Dawgs quickly countered with back-to-back scores from Sherrod and Gately to pull even at 2-2 just over two minutes in.
High Point retaliated over the duration of the opening frame, however, stretching its advantage to five at 9-4 by quarter's end despite two goals from Preston. Perino, Vetter and Deaver all added scores for the Runnin' Bulldogs before halftime, but the Panthers managed to stretch their lead to seven with five goals of their own before the break, 14-7.
Looking to mount a comeback against the league's top team and four-time reigning champion, Gately struck first in the second half off a dish from Vetter to cut the GWU deficit six. Vetter found Sherrod for a second goal shortly thereafter, and Foley beat the goalkeeper on a free position for her first of the afternoon to make it a 16-10 game, but the Panthers managed to string together a 5-0 spurt to ultimately finish the contest on a 9-5 run despite a late, final 4-0 surge from the 'Dawgs.
Danielle Burke made 15 saves for Gardner-Webb, two shy of a Big South postseason record, on 48 total High Point shots – 40 of which went on cage. The Panthers also edged the 'Dawgs in draw controls (26-16) and ground balls (36-18).
Gardner-Webb's historic season featured a double-digit win total for the first time as a program with the Runnin' Bulldogs eclipsing their previous-high win total (6) by four. The 'Dawgs won five games at home and another five on the road, marks that tied for the most single-season wins at Spangler Stadium and set a new program record for wins away from home.
