Clemson, S.C. - The Gardner-Webb men's soccer team defied both odds and history on Tuesday night, as the Bulldogs went down to Historic Riggs Stadium in Clemson, S.C. and defeated the Clemson Tigers 1-0 in both teams' 2009 season opener.

 

With the win the Bulldogs start off the season 1-0 and improved to 1-7-0 against the Clemson Tigers all-time.  The loss drops the Tigers to 0-1 on the 2009 season.

 

The win was also the Bulldogs first over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent, as GWU was 0-17-1 overall against its ACC opponents.

 

From the start the physical play was evident for both teams, as the two combined for 10 fouls in the first 20 minutes of play.

 

The GWU goal came by way of newcomer John Sargent in the 34th minute of the first half, as the freshman caught the Clemson goalkeeper Joseph Bendik by surprise, lobbing the ball over his head and into the back off the net to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.  Newcomer Richie Wall and redshirt-senior Gerard Hefferon got the double assist on the play.

 

Despite being outshot 19-5 over the 90 minutes of play, the Bulldogs defense battled and refused to give up a goal, as the defense back line would not allow the Clemson Tiger offense to get a good shot. 

 

GWU goalkeeper Trent Kozman got the shutout, as he had one save on the night which could have been the tying goal.

 

The two teams combined for 29 fouls on the match, as Clemson held a slight 15-14 advantage in that department.

 

"I am so proud of these guys on behalf of the University and proud of how hard these guys worked tonight to get this win," commented head coach Tony Setzer.  "While sometimes the end results are not always fair, I thought with the way our guys played tonight that they deserved it."

 

The Bulldogs next two matches will be at home, as Coach Setzer's squad will host the Soccer For A Cure Classic on September 4th and 6th.  Gardner-Webb will take on Covenant College on Friday, September 4 at 7 p.m. and will wrap up the classic on Sunday, September 6, against Jacksonville at 3:30 p.m.

 

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