Box Score Nov. 8, 2014
Box Score
On a day when the Grizzlies honored a pair of seniors, it was freshman Samuel Sampaio Gomes who stole the show with a trio of goals to lead the Georgia Gwinnett men's soccer team to a 6-1 victory in the team's regular season finale over Bob Jones (S.C.) on Saturday in Lawrenceville.
The forward from Aachen, Germany scored in the 27th, 41st and 79th minutes for the Grizzlies, who tallied three scores in each half on Saturday to cruise to the win.
The victory wraps up a 10-2-2 regular season for GGC, which will begin its defense of the Association of Independent Institutions championship next weekend.
Seniors German Rodriguez and Iain Struckmeyer were recognized before the game for their commitment to the program as each had been with the team since its inception. They figured prominently on the field Saturday, with Rodriguez scoring GGC's fourth goal of the game and Struckmeyer holding the Bruins (5-12) scoreless in net during his half of action.
It also was GGC's inaugural Homecoming celebration on Saturday, with charter alumni on hand to help cheer on the Grizzlies to their sixth home victory of the year.
Sampaio Gomes put the Grizzlies on top midway through the first half, weaving through traffic and connecting for his third goal of the season.
A little over nine minutes later, Martin Lugo used a long through ball from Pierre Semudenge Mujene to convert in close and make it 2-0.
Rodriguez and Arijan Jaganjac worked back and forth to help set up Sampaio Gomes' second score in the 41st minute, a beautiful flick past the goalkeeper at the near post for a 3-0 lead.
Rodriguez keyed the attack out of halftime, working one-on-one and driving home his second goal of the year for a 4-0 GGC advantage in the 74th minute.
A pair of scores just 30 seconds apart in the 79th minute would cap the Grizzlies' scoring, as Sampaio Gomes added his final tally and Semudenge Mujene got in the act.
The Bruins would climb on the board in the 83rd minute to make it 6-1 on a tally from Travis Woodham.
Georgia Gwinnett finished with a 22-6 advantage in shots on the day, part of a 14-goal outburst over its last two games.
The Grizzlies have earned the second seed for the 2014 A.I.I. tournament next weekend at Ashford University in Clinton, Iowa. The Grizzlies will face third-seeded Cal State San Marcos in a semifinal matchup on Friday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. local time. GGC won the event last year in its first postseason action.
