Box Score LAWRENCEVILLE – The goals poured in early and often on Saturday afternoon as the Georgia Gwinnett women's soccer team extended its perfect home record with a dominating 9-0 performance against visiting Shawnee State (Ohio) at Grizzly Soccer Complex.
With the win, GGC moved to 4-4-1 on the season with a 4-0 mark in Lawrenceville. Meanwhile, the Bears were dealt their first road defeat, falling to 5-4-1 overall.
The Grizzlies racked up seven goals in the opening stanza, and it didn't take long to get started as Amy Morland drew first blood in the third minute with a strike over the outstretched arms of SSU goalkeeper Michaela Garner. Tiffany Rodriguez, who assisted the match's first goal, assisted another when she set up Lina Blomqvist in the 17th. Morland would repay the favor to the junior out of Atlanta two minutes later, teeing up Rodriguez to make it 3-0.
"The first half gave us everything that we hoped for," GGC head coach Chris Kouns said. "After the way that we played last weekend, we wanted to maintain that type of game speed and intensity, and we were able to do that. We scored some great goals, and we really kept them from crossing midfield for most of the match. We still have some things we'd like to improve upon, especially in the second half, but it was just a terrific first half for us."
Nikki LeFevre kicked off another flurry of goals in the 27th as she tapped home a Bristol Countess cross, and Georgia Barton would be involved in the next two scores, scoring in the 34th before setting up Dominique Fletcher in the 39th to extend the Grizzly lead to 6-0. Melissa Hanken closed out the half with a goal just 41 seconds from the break.
Barton found herself back on the scoresheet in the 71st as she headed home a Countess corner, and Countess would also notch the day's final tally, striking in the 78th to give the Green and Gray its second-largest margin of victory in school history.
GGC finished the day with 31 shots, including 22 on frame, compared to just two shots from the visitors from Portsmouth, Ohio.
The Grizzlies will return to action on Wednesday as Talladega will make the trek to Lawrenceville. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
NOTES: Saturday was first time that GGC has taken on an opponent from the state of Ohio … All-time leading scorer Mary Vernetti has 28 goals for her career, and Nikki LeFevre now ranks third on the list with 19 … Bristol Countess has scored or assisted in seven of GGC's nine matches this season, including all four victories … GGC has scored nine or more goals in a match on three occasions in school history, including a 10-0 win over Tennessee Temple last year, which set the school record for both goals scored and margin of victory … Kelsey Griswold, a senior defender, has played in all 64 matches in school history … GGC is 15-3-3 all-time in the month of October.
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