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Goals In Each Half Earn Women's Soccer Win Over Queens, First GWU Victory For Thomsit August 16, 2026 | Women's Soccer BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb women's soccer team kicked off its 2026 season with a win on Sunday night, using a goal in each half to down Queens University and the first win for head coach Samantha Thomsit The Runnin' Bulldogs wasted little time getting off the mark in its first game of the season, breaking the ice after just five minutes. With a great assist by freshman Kylie Williams, sophomore Julia McBride made a quick turn and fired into the far corner. McBride's first GWU goal put the Dawgs up 1-0. Gardner-Webb continued to push for a second goal throughout the first half, batting through the late-summer heat and holding a 7-2 advantage in shots by the halftime break. Holding a 1-0 lead into the final quarter of an hour, Gardner-Webb put the pressure on in search of a second. Both Andrei Kaithlyn Chavez in the 73rd minute and Williams in the 78th minute produced sprawling saves by the Queens keeper, before GWU finally broke through again in the 81st minute. With a couple touches at the edge of the area, Chavez steadied and rifled a shot into the back of the net from distance, putting the Dawgs in front 2-0 and sending the Gardner-Webb bench into a frenzy A couple easy stops by freshman goalkeeper Abril Montiel in the dying minutes put the cherry on top, as Gardner-Webb grabbed a win in its season opener and the first win of the Thomsit era IN THE STATS GWU was relentless going forward, with a 17-4 advantage in total shots, and 9-1 in shots on target. Sunday's contest was also a physical one, with 13 fouls called between the two teams UP NEXT The Runnin' Bulldogs are back in action on Thursday, August 20th, at home to face Emory & Henry at 2:00 pm The Runnin' Bulldogs wasted little time getting off the mark in its first game of the season, breaking the ice after just five minutes. With a great assist by freshman Kylie Williams, sophomore Julia McBride made a quick turn and fired into the far corner. McBride's first GWU goal put the Dawgs up 1-0. Gardner-Webb continued to push for a second goal throughout the first half, batting through the late-summer heat and holding a 7-2 advantage in shots by the halftime break. Holding a 1-0 lead into the final quarter of an hour, Gardner-Webb put the pressure on in search of a second. Both Andrei Kaithlyn Chavez in the 73rd minute and Williams in the 78th minute produced sprawling saves by the Queens keeper, before GWU finally broke through again in the 81st minute. With a couple touches at the edge of the area, Chavez steadied and rifled a shot into the back of the net from distance, putting the Dawgs in front 2-0 and sending the Gardner-Webb bench into a frenzy A couple easy stops by freshman goalkeeper Abril Montiel in the dying minutes put the cherry on top, as Gardner-Webb grabbed a win in its season opener and the first win of the Thomsit era IN THE STATS GWU was relentless going forward, with a 17-4 advantage in total shots, and 9-1 in shots on target. Sunday's contest was also a physical one, with 13 fouls called between the two teams UP NEXT The Runnin' Bulldogs are back in action on Thursday, August 20th, at home to face Emory & Henry at 2:00 pm Players Mentioned Team Stats QUC GWU Goals 0 2 Shots 4 17 Shots on Goal 1 9 Saves 7 1 Corners 1 4 Fouls 6 7 Scoring Plays Julia McBride (1) Assisted By: Kylie Williams GOAL by GWU McBride, Julia Assist by Williams, Kylie. 04:50 Andrei Chavez (1) Assisted By: Gigi Sweet GOAL by GWU Chavez, Andrei Assist by Sweet, Gigi. 80:48 Game Leaders No videos available.