BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The No. 8 ranked Gardner-Webb men's soccer team will return to the pitch on Friday, September 12, playing host to No. 9 Furman University in battle of top 10 teams.

Gardner-Webb currently sits with a perfect 5-0-0 record, one win shy of tying the best start in program history, after a convincing 3-0 win over East Tennessee State on Saturday, September 6.

During that contest with the Buccaneers, the Runnin' Bulldogs took a scoreless deadlock at halftime and turned it into a route after exploding for three second half goals, all of which were scored by different players.

Midfielders Franco Ocana and Robbie Lyons each posted their first goal in a GWU uniform while forward Jaylen Orr secured his team-leading fourth goal of the season. Senior keeper Alan Horrocks went the distance in goal while picking up his fourth clean sheet in five games.

The Dawgs are outscoring their opponents by a margin of 11-1, more than two goals per game while allowing only 0.20 goals per game. Gardner-Webb has fired off 62 shots, including 35 on goal (57%).

Furman comes into the contest with a 3-0-3 overall record after tying No. 5 Virginia Tech in its last outing. The Paladins opened the 2025 campaign with an impressive 3-nil win over UC San Diego before playing to a 0-0 draw with No. 9 San Diego.

In their three matches against ranked opponents, the Paladins have battled to three ties while scoring just one goal in those contests. Diego Hernandez and Wilfer Bustamante lead Furman with three goals each while Hernandez and Ben Boxall have tallied three assists each. Furman is outscoring its opponents 13-5 on the year.

Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Greene Harbison Stadium and will be broadcast on ESPN+. You can follow along with live stats at www.gwusports.com.