BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb women's soccer team (4-9-3, 3-2-2 Big South) remains alive to host a first round game in the Big South Conference Tournament, when the Runnin' Bulldogs welcome league-leading Radford to town on Wednesday night for its regular season finale

GAME INFORMATION
Game 17: Radford (9-4-1, 6-1-0 Big South) at Gardner-Webb (4-9-3, 3-2-2 Big South)
Location: Greene-Harbison Stadium - Boiling Springs, N.C.
Stream: ESPN Plus
Kickoff: 7:00 pm
Talent: Seth Eaves
Most Recent Meeting: 2024 - Gardner-Webb 2, Radford 2
Series History: Radford leads 14-6-3

SERIES NOTES

• Radford leads the all-time series 14-6-3, has won six of the last nine, and is unbeaten in the last four
• GWU and Radford played to a 2-2 draw last season in Boiling Springs, the first conference result under then first-year head coach Erik Solberg
• Gardner-Webb has faired well against Radford in Boiling Springs, unbeaten in the last six home meetings dating back to 2016
• The Runnin' Bulldogs are 4-4-3 against Radford all-time at home

GARDNER-WEBB NOTES

• The Runnin' Bulldogs scored a 1-0 win on the road at USC Upstate in Big South play last Saturday night, before falling 2-0 to VMI at home on Wednesday and High Point on the road 3-0 this past Saturday
• GWU saw its record-breaking run in Big South play, a program record five consecutive league shutouts, come to an end in the loss at High Point
• Gardner-Webb secured 11 points through its first six Big South games, the Runnin' Bulldogs best start to a league campaign since 2022
• The Runnin' Bulldogs previous five-game Big South unbeaten run is the longest for the program since 2018, when GWU went eight unbeaten with seven wins and a draw between October and November to reach the Big South Championship Game
• In addition to graduate forward Annie Slovak who has played 30 minutes off the bench in nearly every appearance this season, Gardner-Webb is expected to feature in rotation, junior midfielder Lily Stegall who has played over 500 minutes this season
• GWU is led by redshirt junior midfielder Peyton Bryant, who holds a team-high 1293 minutes for outfield players this season and is one of only three GWU outfield players above the 1000 minute mark
• Senior goalkeeper Savannah Dixon has won Big South Defensive Player of the Week four times this season, having started every game in goal for the Runnin' Bulldogs, totaling 1441 minutes, 89 saves, and five straight shutouts in the Big South before Saturday, including a career-high 11 saves in the win at USC Upstate
• The Runnin' Bulldogs shutout streak, with Dixon in goal for it's entirety, reached 541 minutes before coming to a halt in the second half against VMI last Wednesday afternoon
• Gardner-Webb has also seen significant defensive contributions from freshman defender Sarah Birchall, who started each of the Dawgs last eight games in a row before VMI and has averaged over 65 minutes per game during that span
• On the attack, Gardner-Webb is led by junior forward Olivia Tribolet who has four goals, one assist and nine points through 13 games played, including the game-winner at USC Upstate on Saturday
• Freshman forward Ila Allred is the other multi-goal scorer for GWU, with two goals and four points in 16 games
• Others to make significant contributions in the team include freshman defender Noor Reslan and freshman midfielder Katie Stefanovski who have each started 10 and 14 games respectively, and freshman midfielder Bailey Pottratz who has featured in 15 games, making eight starts, including a stretch of five games in a row during September
• The VMI game featured freshman forward Ella Meccia who played a season-high 69 minutes in a start, and freshman defender Emma O'Rourke who played a season-high 37 minutes off the bench
• Joining Allred, Bryant and Dixon, are senior defender Camila Lezcano, and sophomore defender Tanner Michael who have each started and played in 15 games this season and sit over 1200 minutes on the pitch each

BIG SOUTH UPDATE

• Gardner-Webb enters Wednesday night's game No. 4 in the Big South standings on 11 points, locked into the Big South Tournament for the first time since 2022
• The Runnin' Bulldogs clinched a spot in the 2025 Big South Tournament by way of a loss from Charleston Southern at Radford on Saturday
• High Point (10 points) and Winthrop (8 points) enter Wednesday's action No. 5 and No. 6 in the standings, and are scheduled to play at 4 pm in Rock Hill
• Gardner-Webb will secure a first round home game with an outright win against Radford, and could still with a draw or loss, pending the result between High Point and Winthrop