HARRISONBURG, Va. – Senior forward Jaylen Orr posted a pair of goals and one assist while senior goalie Alan Horrocks tallied his first clean sheet of the season as the Gardner-Webb (1-0) men's soccer team picked up a dominant 4-nil win against Drexel (0-1) on Thursday afternoon at Sentara Park.
In a game that was dominated by the Dawgs, Gardner-Webb posted 14 shots, including eight on goal while holding Drexel to five total shots. Sophomore winger Kpardeh Samson led GWU with six shots.
Gardner-Webb came out of the gates strong, consistently putting pressure on the Dragons defense over the early portion of the first half. The Runnin' Bulldogs looked poised to take the advantage in the 10th minute, but Samson's shot sailed just high.
However, GWU would not be denied in the 22nd minute as Orr took a beautiful double pass from Samson and freshman Javan Ochieng before blasting the ball past Owen Moore of Drexel for the 1-0 lead.
Drexel tried to knot the score with a trio of shots over the next six minutes of game action but could not connect anything on target. Those missed opportunities proved costly as the Dawgs doubled the lead at the 43:22 mark after Samson collected a ricocheted ball in the box and booting it into the back of the net.
It did not take Gardner-Webb long to extend its lead in the second half as Orr connected on his second goal of the contest in the 48th minute, assisted by sophomore forward Lewis Johnson and junior midfielder Tiago Campos.
With the game seemingly in hand, the Runnin' Bulldogs added an insurance goal in the 69th minute after Orr and junior defender Breno Correia teamed up to find a slashing Alejandro Carillo for his first goal in a Gardner-Webb uniform.
The remaining 21 minutes of action went scoreless, but the Runnin' Bulldogs did not let off the gas, earning key shots on goal by graduate forward Matheus Spina and junior midfielder Felipe Moreira.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will take on host James Madison during the second and final match of the Fairfield by Marriott Invitational on Sunday, August 24. First kick is slated for 7 p.m.
