Nov. 14, 2014

Box Score CLINTON, Iowa - With less than four minutes remaining in Friday afternoon's A.I.I. Championships semifinal, a short-handed Georgia Gwinnett women's soccer team very nearly turned the match on its head, but unfortunately for the Grizzlies, Andreah Creevey's late would-be equalizer clanged off the post as GGC fell 1-0 to host Ashford.

"I thought we really stepped up and played aggressive in the second half," GGC Head Coach Domenic Martelli said. "The battle, the fight and desire was there from everyone. We still had some great chances to score, and it was a great game. It's just unfortunate that it had to end this way."

With the loss, GGC fell to 10-6-2 on the year and saw its school-record eight-match unbeaten streak come to an end. Ashford improved to 9-8-2 on the year and advanced to the A.I.I. final on Saturday, where the team will square off with No. 15 Cal State San Marcos.

The match's opening stanza saw the hosts largely on the front foot, culminating with a 30th-minute goal by Alicia Tamburro to give the Saints the 1-0 advantage.

Much of the second half would be a different story, however, as the Grizzlies began to press hard for the equalizer, ultimately finishing the half with 10 shots compared to Ashford's six. Second yellow cards for two different GGC players didn't stop the opportunities from coming as Georgia Barton nearly connected on a header in the final 15 minutes of the game, and Creevey's chance came inside the last four.

Magaly Gutierrez played a full 90 minutes in goal for GGC, registering six saves, and her counterpart Nyla Peterkin added six of her own, including three off the feet of Mary Vernetti, to keep the Green and Gray at bay.

Friday's loss capped the 2014 season for the Grizzlies. The campaign was the third consecutive to feature double-digit victories, and the 54 total goals stand as the most in a season in school history.

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