Highlanders Shut Down Gardner-Webb in Senior Day Triumph

Saturday, October 10

Radford, Va.

4:00 PM

Radford University

4-7-1, 2-2-0

Gardner-Webb

5-7-1, 2-2-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Gardner-Webb	0	0	0
Radford	1	1	2

Game Notes

Photo by: Rob Simmons

Highlanders Shut Down Gardner-Webb in Senior Day Triumph

10/10/2026 7:27:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

RADFORD, Va. – The celebrations from Radford women's soccer families and friends began before the game and continued through the contest, as the Highlanders scored twice and held the Runnin' Bulldogs at bay in a 2-0 win on Saturday afternoon at Cupp Stadium.

KEY FACTS

Magda Carpenter's Olimpico goal put Radford ahead just over five minutes in.
Ciaira Anderson added Radford's second goal on a header from a terrific cross into the box by junior teammate Mallory Harmison early in the second half.
The Highlanders were in control much of the contest, totaling 14 shots to Gardner-Webb's nine, including having seven shots on goal to the Runnin' Bulldogs' one.
This is the second shut out of the season for Radford and their first in conference play.
Radford is now tied with three other teams in fourth place in the Big South standings. Gardner-Webb, High Point, and Charleston Southern also have six points.

PLAY BY PLAY
Despite the cold, windy, and at times rainy weather, there were plenty of families and fans on hand to take in Radford's Senior Day celebration. Hunter Rosenberg, Lexi Radvanyi, Katie Purnell, Caitlyn Nottingham, Hope Ku-Dipietro, Ava Kertgate, Haley Blake, and Carpenter were recognized by head coach Ben Sohrabi and fans before the contest for their hard work and dedication to the program.

Once the game started, those seniors and their teammates showed that dedication with a strong performance throughout. Radford's Purnell logged the first shot of the game, and though it was blocked, it created the first of many Highlander corner kicks. The first was the best, as Carpenter used the breeze to help curl a shot under the crossbar for an Olimpico goal in the sixth minute. The goal was her second of the season and first in conference action.

The Highlanders kept attacking, with Kertgate and Anderson forcing Gardner-Webb goalkeeper Abril Montiel to make several saves in the first 15 minutes. The Runnin' Bulldogs logged a couple of shots and earned their first corner kick near the 20-minute mark, but neither tries were on target. Radford dug back in and forced Gardner-Webb to sacrifice a few corner kicks, with Anderson getting another shot that was blocked in the 34th minute. A handful of minutes later, Nottingham showed off her strong shooting skills as a defender, sending in a long free kick that again needed to be saved. Abby Walsh also nearly made it 2-0 just before halftime, taking a feed from Anderson that she tried to use her back heel to flick past the goalkeeper. However, Montiel made another save, her fifth of the first half, to keep it 1-0 at the break.

The Highlanders were on the attack, winning a free kick and corner kick early to start the second. Anderson's goal came in regular play, as a terrific pass by Harmison into the box found Anderson, who floated her header over the goalkeeper and into the net to make it 2-0 in the 52nd minute. Anderson and Carpenter both had great tries that nearly gave them a brace, respectively, but neither finished on goal within a few minutes of the second goal. Nottingham again got a second shot off on a header attempt that just sailed over the crossbar in the 65th minute.

After dominating much of the game, Gardner-Webb began to get after Radford on their offensive end. Zoe Marque finally got a shot attempt off, the first for Gardner-Webb in the second half, with just under 15 minutes remaining. Later, the always dangerous Julia McBride came close but ultimately sent several shots wide of the post in the final 10 minutes. She got a great shot off from the box in the 87th minute, forcing Radvanyi to make a great diving stop for the senior's only save of the contest. Radford managed to outlast Gardner-Webb late, holding off the late charge to secure the shut out.

SOHRABI QUOTABLE
"I'm just really happy for this great group of seniors to get a win on Senior Night," added Sohrabi after the game. "All of them are leaders whether they are captains or not. The younger players look up to them. From a conference standpoint, these are needed points at home. I was glad to see the urgency in our team scoring early in both halves. Happy about the first shut out of the conference season We were defense first today. One of our goals was getting a shutout. I was really happy for Lexi and the back line to come in and get it done."

UP NEXT
The Highlanders hit the road for two road matches this week. The first of which is against in-state conference foe Longwood. The action begins on Wednesday, October 14 at 7:00 p.m. from Farmville, with live coverage on ESPN+.

STAY SOCIAL WITH RADFORD WOMEN'S SOCCER
For all the latest on Radford women's soccer, be sure to follow the team on X (@RadfordWSOC), Instagram (@radfordwsoc), and "like" the team's official Facebook Page (Radford Women's Soccer).
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