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RADFORD, Va. – Second-seeded Radford begins its quest for a fourth league title when it takes on No. 7 Gardner-Webb Thursday at 7 p.m. in the opening round of the 2010 Big South Women's Soccer Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting.

The other quarterfinal matchups begin at 11:30 when No. 4 Charleston Southern faces off against No. 5 High Point. At 2:00, No. 1 Winthrop plays No. 8 VMI and shortly after, No. 3 Coastal Carolina matches up against No. 6 Liberty.

Radford has the privilege of hosting the conference tournament for just the third time in school history and the first time since 2000.

“We are looking forward to hosting the Big South Tournament. It is the first time Cupp Stadium has been the venue for the women's championship and we hope all the teams and fans enjoy it,” commented head coach Ben Sohrabi. “I expect all of the games to be tight exciting games.”

The Runnin' Bulldogs seized a 2-1 victory over Radford in the regular season. The Highlanders got on the board first in the fourth minute thanks to a Mary Wiley strike. Freshman Tyler Drake slid the pass to Wiley to tally her third assist of the year. Two minutes later Gardner-Webb responded with the equalizer and added the game-winner in the 44th minute.

“I expect a tough game against a well-coached Gardner-Webb team. Hopefully we can improve on some areas and get a better result than last time we played them. I hope the University and local residents will come out to support our Highlanders.”

Over the course of the season, Radford has seen a favorable blend of stifling defense and a relentless offensive mindset. The Highlanders hold a commanding 36-12 scoring margin over the opposition and a 340-210 advantage in shots.

Freshman Julie Ruh'e and senior Latrice Lee have been the attacking leaders for Radford. Ruh'e has a team-best seven goals and six assists, while Lee has come on strong as of late, totaling five goals, including two against VMI on “Senior Night” last Friday and has three assists.

11 Highlanders have seen at least one shot find the back of the net this season and 13 different players have tallied an assist.

Freshman goalkeeper Che' Brown has surpassed every expectation this season. Brown ranks nationally in save percentage (18th/0.872) and goals-against average (28th/0.656). Her goals-against average so far is the second-best mark in program history. She has eight shutouts to her credit, which also stands as Radford's seventh best career mark.

TOURNAMENT FACTS:
-The Highlanders are 1-1-1 in Big South Tournament matches played in Radford.
-2-1-0 all-time against No. 7 seeds and 7-4-3 in quarterfinal matches.
-Undefeated (3-0-0) in Championship matches
-Overall, Radford is 13-10-4 (.556) in the tournament.