BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Rebecca Hollstegge opened Big South Conference play with the first hat-trick for Charleston Southern since Marky Boyce's trio of goals in 2010 and Toni Lashley scored for the fourth consecutive game as the Lady Bucs topped Gardner-Webb on Thursday evening at Greene-Harbison Soccer Stadium, 4-1.

Hollstegge led CSU's scoring efforts in the game and evened the Buccaneers' all-time scoring leader with goals in the 34th, 57th and 61st minutes of the game to match Boyce's three goal effort on October 16, 2010 against UNC Asheville.

"It was huge for her (Hollstegge) tonight in the game," commented head coach Eric Terrill on the senior midfielder's performance. "It's her senior year and she has put a lot of pressure on herself this season. She came up big with the goal against The Citadel earlier this week and with it being the first conference game, she really stepped up. It's difficult to score a hat-trick in a Division I game and it was a really big night for her. We're really happy for her and excited about what she was able to do for us tonight and throughout her career."

The teams battled through a scoreless 30 minutes to open the contest as Gardner-Webb (1-7, 0-1 BSC) challenged CSU (3-4-1, 1-0 BSC) keeper Caitlin Cody early in the contest, peppering the net with nine shots in the first period. Cody recorded six saves over the first frame to keep the Runnin' Bulldogs at bay and off the scoreboard.

Gina Cox and Lashley lined up shot attempts at the GWU goal early in the first half, but Amy Schmitt keep the Buccaneers off the board until Hollstegge slipped through the Gardner-Webb defense and found the back of the net at the 33:41 mark to put Charleston Southern up 1-0.

The Buccaneers doubled the lead early in the second half, Emma Faubert lofted a corner kick into the box in front of the Gardner-Webb net and the ball bounced around several times before Hollstegge put a foot on it at the 56:15 mark, directing her shot past Schmitt and into the net to double the CSU lead.

Four minutes later, Chelsea Frankeny passed the ball through to Hollstegge and the senior midfielder from Detroit, Mich. connected for the third time in the game, drilling the ball into the net for the 3-0 advantage with under 30 minutes to play in the contest.

Lashley entered the game having scored goals in each of Charleston Southern's past three contests this season, connecting against Francis Marion, Georgia Southern and The Citadel, and she kept the streak alive in the 69th minute, continuing to press CSU's advantage. Lashley's unassisted goal at the 68:12 mark gave the Lady Bucs a commanding 4-0 lead.

Gardner-Webb's pushed their first point on the board at the 79:05 mark as Megan Loftin collected the cross from Brooke Kelly in the goal box and headed it past the CSU defense, breaking the seal on the net and ending the shutout attempt as the Runnin' Bulldogs attempted to build momentum for a comeback attempt.

The attempt was quickly snuffed out as CSU held possession for the final three minutes of the contest to close out the Big South Conference victory.

"It's always difficult to get a win on the road, especially in conference, and it was a great way to start the conference season off, getting the win," said Terrill following the victory. "It was an evenly played game and (Caitlin) Cody came up big for us in the net, our forwards played great, and Becca and Toni (Lashley) had great games as well. We still have a ways to go, still have problems we'll face, but tonight we figured out how to win and we want to continue to play at that level."

Hollstegge fell short of tying the all-time CSU record for goals scored in a game, missing tying Lauren Jones' total of four goals, which she recorded on October 23, 1999, against Liberty University.

"Tonight, we'll focus on recovering from the game, getting healthy, hydrated and plenty of rest, and then we'll pick it back up again as we start to get mentally prepared for Saturday's game," commented Terrill on the season ahead of the Buccaneers. "We still have a long conference season ahead of us, and we're still a young team, so we'll look for our upperclassmen to continue to step up and lead us as we continue to develop and work and get ready for Winthrop."

Charleston Southern remains on the road in Big South Conference play as CSU travels to Rock Hill, S.C. to take on Winthrop University on Saturday, September 22nd. Kickoff between the Lady Bucs and the Eagles is set for 1 p.m.