HIGH POINT, N.C. – Junior forward Elias Khodri connected on a penalty kick in the 16^th minute while the Gardner-Webb (10-3-3, 5-0-2) defense held strong, defeating No. 11 nationally-ranked High Point 1-0 on Friday evening.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs handed HPU its first defeat in conference while ending the nation's longest win streak. With the win, Gardner-Webb has secured the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big South Tournament.
 
Gardner-Webb was able to put up seven total shots with four of those being on goal. Junior goalie Alan Horrocks played all 90 minutes in goal, tallying six saves while earning his fourth clean sheet of the season.
 
Horrocks was tested early in the opening period as High Point's Celestin Blondel was presented the first real look at goal for either side in the fourth minute of action, but his shot was pushed away to safety.
 
Junior forward Jaylen Orr was presented a great scoring chance in the 9^th minute, but his strike was corralled by the Panthers' keeper while the game remained scoreless.
 
That all changed at the 15:01 mark of the first as HPU's Lukas Kamrath committed a foul in the box, giving Khodri a PK attempt. That opportunity was successful as the forward pushed the ball past the keeper into the right corner of the cage.
 
The remainder of the period was based off defense as the two teams combined for just a pair of shots down the stretch as Gardner-Webb took a 1-nil lead into the break.
 
High Point, on the ropes, came out firing in the second half, but a duo of early scoring attempts were reeled in by Horrocks. That Panthers looked poised to knot the contest in the 71^st first minute, but two consecutive shots deflected off the pipes while GWU held on to the minimal lead.
 
From that point, the game was all academic as Gardner-Webb held on for the key conference win.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs have secured the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big South Tournament and will host the winner of the No. 3 and No. 6 seed winner on Sunday, November 10.