BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Facing off against one of the most formidable offensive clubs in all of the Big South Conference, the Presbyterian College women's soccer team stays on the road for the second straight outing on Wednesday evening in a hostile environment at Gardner-Webb. First touch at Greene-Harbison Stadium is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., as the Blue Hose will battle a squad sitting just one game out of first place in the league.

With only four matches left on the school's 2022 calendar before the four-team Big South Tournament in early November, the Blue Hose will search for a monumental victory over a program that leads the league in virtually every offensive category. With five of their eight wins on the year taking place at home, the Runnin' Bulldogs will serve up quite the test for head coach Brian Purcell and co. in the middle of the week.
 
WHEN: Wednesday, October 12
WHERE: Greene-Harbison Stadium (Boiling Springs, N.C.)
TIME: 7:00 p.m.
RECORDS: Presbyterian (0-10-3, 0-4-1 Big South) – Gardner-Webb (8-4-3, 3-1-1 Big South)
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
Capturing their three Big South W's by a 2-0 difference at Longwood, a 5-2 walloping over Charleston Southern, and a 3-1 decision over Winthrop in their last meeting, Gardner-Webb rolls into Wednesday's duel with a ridiculous 49 goals scored in 15 appearances, at least 21 more than any other team in the conference. GWU tops the league in total shots (237), goals per game (3.27), and assists, dishing out a helper in 44 of those strikes to make up quite the intimidating attack.

Three of the top five point-gatherers in the Big South reside in Boiling Springs through the latter stages of 2022, with Klara Ovefelt accounting for five goals and five assists, Autumn Woodard putting up six goals and six assists, and Maddie Turlington running away with the crown thanks to an unfathomable 41 points (18 goals, five assists).

Led by ninth-year head coach Mike Varga, the Runnin' Bulldogs have bounced back from a 1-0 setback to UNC Asheville – their only outright loss in Big South territory - to support either a win or tie in their last three. GWU salvaged a 2-2 tie with Campbell (Presbyterian's last opponent) after scoring twice in less than a minute once falling behind by a deuce.

Able to outscore the other side more often than not while setting their sights on potentially the top seed in the postseason conference tournament, Gardner-Webb kicks off a stretch of three home matches out of their final four against the Blue Hose, producing two goals or more on 11 different dates.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
PC was unable to combat an early offensive wave from Campbell last Friday, eventually falling to the Fighting Camels by a 4-0 margin in the fifth conference meeting of the semester. Coach Purcell's unit will look to turn things around against Gardner-Webb tomorrow evening in what would effectively be a statement victory should they pull out the W on the road.

Recent series history has favored the Runnin' Bulldogs, able to down the Blue Hose nine times out of the programs' 12 face-offs with one another. PC lined up consecutive wins over GWU in 2012 and 2013 by a combined 4-0 distance, but has come up either on the losing end or settled into a tie in the last eight confrontations with their northern foe.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW:
A link to live statistics during Wednesday's contest can be found below and at the top of this page. Following tomorrow's league joust, the Blue Hose will return to Martin Stadium next Saturday to meet Winthrop in a matchup that will be broadcasted live via ESPN+.
 
PC vs. Gardner-Webb Live Stats - http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=411625