AKRON, OHIO – Interim Head Coach Maddie Martin picked up her first career victory on Sunday afternoon as the Runnin' Bulldogs sprinted by Akron for an 18-10 victory. Brittany Sherrod and Jada Preston each had six points to tie for the team lead, Sherrod's total marked a career high. In total, GWU had 29 points which was their most in a game since February 2020.

"I could not be more proud of this team. They 100% earned and deserved this," said Martin following the win. "Today was a total team accomplishment and I look forward to us building on this moment."
 
The Zips gained an early 3-0 lead in the opening minutes of the game leading to a GWU timeout. Gardner-Webb opened their scoring with back-to-back goals from Aimie Perino and Alera Cornett to draw within one. Akron scored halfway through the quarter, but the 'Dogs closed the quarter on a 4-0 scoring run for their first lead of the game and hold a 6-4 advantage at the end of the first.
 
The teams traded goals early in the second quarter with Akron bringing their deficit to 8-7 with 8:40 left in the half. With the score at 8-7, Gardner-Webb rallied off the final six goals of the opening half to hold a seven-goal lead. Each goal during this stretch came from the stick of a different player.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs offense didn't skip a beat in the second half as the team registered the first three goals and held the Zips scoreless in the entire third quarter to push their lead to double digits. Akron netted a trio in the fourth, but it proved to be too little too late as the 'Dogs claimed their first win of 2023.
 
Gardner-Webb allowed its fewest goals of the season in today's game with 10. The defense got a boost with the return of Mackenzie Gallery to the starting lineup as she had the team-high in groundballs with three and had two caused turnovers. Also on the defensive end, Heather Lobas had a pair of caused turnovers and Grace Briggs added one herself.
 
As a team, Akron turned the ball over 24 times with 16 of those being caused by GWU. Gardner-Webb created an advantage in groundballs too as they scooped 17 to Akron's 11.
 
Danielle Burke had the start in goal, played the entire first half and collected 10 saves for a .588 save percentage. Burke picked up her first win of the season as well. Freshman Lauren Cretella and was in goal for all 30 minutes of the second half and had four stops and posted a .571 save percentage.
 
On the other end of the field, the Runnin' Bulldogs had a team season-high in goals scored with 18. Sherrod finished with six goals which is the most by a GWU player since Amanda Steinmuller had eight in 2018 against Wofford. It is also tied for the second-most by a Big South player this season. Sherrod led the team in draw controls as she had four.
 
Emma Duchscherer had her first multi-goal game as she finished with three goals and added an assist. Cornett had two assists and scored three goals today which marked back-to-back games for her with hat tricks. Preston had a season-high in points with six and dished five assists in the effort, her most since setting the program record in assists with eight in a game during her freshman season.  
 
Perino eclipsed 50 career points in the effort as she had a pair of scores and moved into GWU's Top 10 for career points. Perino led the team with four CTs and had two DCs and two GBs. Bria Foley scored two goals and had an assist to move into the program's all-time Top 10 for goals scored. Rylee Gonzalez also contributed on the offensive end by netting a goal and having two assists off the bench.
 
Gardner-Webb will return to the field on Tuesday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. for a game against Youngstown State as they wrap up their two-game road trip to Ohio.