BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Made to wait an extra three days to resume Big South Conference action due to the impact of Hurricane Helene on the east coast, the Presbyterian College women's soccer team returns to the pitch tomorrow night to face off with Gardner-Webb.

In what will be the first match to feature the Blue Hose in 10 days, they'll visit G-W on Saturday for a 7:00 PM start. ESPN+ will have coverage of the event, as both sides look to grab their first league win of the season.

PC already endured an earlier rest period before their most recent clash (a tie with USC Upstate in the Big South opener). After ending that break against the Spartans on September 25, head coach Matt Smith's crew was scheduled to play Charleston Southern earlier this week, although plans were postponed in light of the damage that the tropical storm left behind.

Due to the weather-related alterations, the Blue Hose have played only once in the past 20 days. They'll aim to shake off the rust by tangling with an opponent who they blanked last fall 2-0 inside Martin Stadium.

 
GAMEDAY INFO – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5
Presbyterian (5-3-2, 0-0-1) at Gardner-Webb (2-8-3, 0-1-2)
WHEN / WHERE: Boiling Springs, N.C. | 7:00 PM
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast

 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
 
- Gardner-Webb has been a peculiar team to analyze at this stage of the season, already with three Big South matches in the rearview and tying two of them.

- The Runnin' Bulldogs put a five-match losing streak to bed on September 19 by hammering South Carolina State 4-0, leading to a 2-2 stalemate in the conference opener against reigning Big South Tournament champion Radford.

- When competing on their home base, Gardner-Webb displays two wins, two losses, and two ties. The aforementioned draw with the Highlanders was their last time playing in Boiling Springs, last seen on Wednesday in a trip to High Point that ended in a 1-1 tie.

- After HPU struck first at 67:41, G-W countered with the equalizer exactly 60 seconds later. Outside of the SC State shellacking, the Runnin' Bulldogs have been held below two goals in each bout except two.

- Erik Solberg is in year one as Gardner-Webb's head coach, spending the previous four seasons at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Nearly half of G-W's shots have fallen on-goal this year, assisting on 11 of their 15 scores.
 

LAST TIME OUT
 
- Presbyterian uncovered the Big South slate against a dangerous foe in their last duel, mirroring USC Upstate at 2-2 after coming back from an early hole and scoring the lone goal of the second half (48:44).

- Coach Smith's squad has been one of the deepest offenses of any mid-major program, boasting 10 different goal-scorers since August. Both connections against the Spartans came from freshmen – Sydney Lassiter and Allie Williams – furthering the notion that PC can strike from anywhere.

- Lassiter and Williams became the first set of Blue Hose players to both score their first collegiate goals in the same match since 2018 (a 4-2 victory over The Citadel), signifying the fifth time that this has happened since the school jumped to the Division I ranks in the late 2000's.

- Below is a list of each instance where a duo of Presby teammates secured their first-ever goals in the same contest:

• 2011 vs Campbell (Emily Boggus & Gracie Boswell)
• 2015 vs Hampton (Savannah Austin, Megan Archer, Sydney Fontenot, & Naya Martin)
• 2017 at The Citadel (Peyton Patterson & Preston Robinette)
• 2018 vs The Citadel (Morgan Hutchison & Mallory Hopkins)
• 2024 vs USC Upstate (Sydney Lassiter & Allie Williams)

- When the Scotsmen last lined up against Gardner-Webb in 2023, then-sophomore Sloan Spees was responsible for both scores in what amounted to a shutout. She found the back of the net in the 15^th and 60^th minutes to give Presby their seventh all-time W over the Runnin' Bulldogs.