Men's Soccer 10/2/2018 1:30:00 PM

RADFORD HEADS TO GARDNER-WEBB FOR MIDWEEK MATCH

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RADFORD, Va. – Coming off back-to-back victories, the Radford men's soccer team has a chance to climb up the Big South standings with a midweek match at Gardner-Webb.

SETTING THE STAGE
Opponent: Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs
When: Wednesday, Oct. 2
Where: Greene-Harbison Stadium (Boiling Springs, N.C.)
Live Stats
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ABOUT THE MATCH-UP
In the all-time series with Gardner-Webb, the Highlanders have fared well, going 22-13-7 across 42 meetings. The two programs first met in 1989 when Radford earned a definitive 10-0 victory at home.

In last year's contest between Radford and GWU at Cupp Stadium, Kieran Roberts put together the best game of his career. He scored four goals on just six shots to lead the Highlanders to a 5-3 victory. Max Edwards, Victor Valls, Jakob Strandsäter, Wyatt Erzen and Michael Walsh all cracked the starting lineup alongside Roberts.

LAST TIME OUT
The Highlanders managed to parlay their momentum from a 4-1 win at West Virginia into a 4-2 victory at Longwood on Saturday, pushing their Big South record to 1-1 on the year.

After a scoreless first half, the floodgates opened up for both teams beginning with a 48^th-minute strike from Diop. Roberts doubled the lead in the 56^th minute before Longwood answered with two goals of their own to tie things up by the 83^rd minute.

Luckily for Radford, Roberts latched on to a rebound and scored the game-winning goal just moments later to earn the win. Radford outshot the Lancers 23-8 and earned seven corner kicks compared to just three for Longwood.

FRESHMAN PHENOM
Amadou Macky Diop has been unstoppable in the Highlanders' last two matches. After going the first five games of the year with just one goal, he collected two goals plus one assist against West Virginia and one goal and an assist at Longwood. That gives him eight points off of three goals and two assists on the season.

ROBERTS' RECORD WATCH
Redshirt senior forward Kieran Roberts has been moving up the Radford men's soccer record books his entire career and is now beginning to appear in the program's all-time top 10's for career statistics.

The Bournemouth, England native now ranks sixth for career shots taken (167) and tied for eighth for career goals scored (28). He is also just three points away from cracking the career points Top-10. Roberts currently has 60 points and Iyiola Awosika (2008-11) sits in 10^th with 63.

SCOUTING THE RUNNIN' BULLDOGS
Gardner-Webb is off to a slow start this season and only stands at 1-6-1 heading into Wednesday's contest. With their one win coming against Big South newcomer USC Upstate, their conference record is still solid at 1-1.

The Runnin' Bulldogs were picked to finish fifth out of nine teams in the 2018 Big South Preseason Poll after posting an 8-7-2 (4-2-1 BSC) record a year ago. Like the Highlanders, they have struggled to get their offense going and have only scored 10 goals across eight games.

Senior midfielder Jack Hoey leads his squad with three goals, including one game-winning goal, on 14 shots. Sophomore forward Oskar Wang and freshman midfielder Edin Hernandez are tied for the team lead with two assists apiece. Freshman Grant Glorioso has gotten the lion's share of minutes at goalkeeper, collecting 31 saves and one shutout.

FOLLOW MEN'S SOCCER
For more information on the Radford men's soccer team visit RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordMSoccer on Twitter, 'radfordmsoccer' Instagram or Radford Men's Soccer on Facebook.

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