Box Score LAWRENCEVILLE – Chris Kouns, who is in his first year as the head coach of the Georgia Gwinnett women's soccer team, couldn't have asked for a better score in his first game in charge on Friday night as the Grizzlies found the back of the net early and often en route to a 6-0 victory over visiting USC Beaufort at Grizzly Soccer Complex.
"One of the hallmarks of this program will be that we're going to go forward and try to put teams under pressure," Kouns explained. "I thought that we were able to do that at times tonight, and I was very pleased with our finishing. It's a good start for us, but we still have some things that we have to work on to be ready for Sunday."
Even with five freshmen in the team's starting 11, it was the veterans who set the tone in the early goings as Tiffany Rodriguez and Nikki LeFevre each found the back of the net inside the match's opening half hour. In the case of Rodriguez, she was on the receiving end of a through ball from LeFevre, drawing first blood in the 17th minute. It would be LeFevre's turn to follow suit in a similar fashion, converting a pass from Georgia Barton to double the advantage four minutes later. LeFevre then did the work on her own in the 28th to give the Green and Gray the 3-0 advantage.
"I couldn't have asked for a better start to the season," LeFevre said of her performance. "I think that I was able to be kind of a spark off the bench tonight, and it was nice to get back out there again. Now we have to put this behind us and continue to get better before we play SCAD on Sunday."
Both Rodriguez and LeFevre were all-conference honorees a year ago for the Grizzlies.
Hannah Engelbracht scored the first half's final goal in the 39th, gathering a header from Bethany Johnson and burying it for her first career tally. It was a freshman in Amanda Yarger who supplied the initial ball, picking out Johnson off a corner kick.
Barton further added to the scoresheet with a 66th minute goal, and Yarger was once again involved in the game's final score as she set the stage for an impressive strike from fellow freshman Lauren Moss.
In goal, Courtney McKenzie, a freshman out of Acworth, made her first career start and posted a spotless first half with one save before making way for sophomore Courtney Hicks.
The Grizzlies will return to action on Sunday against SCAD Savannah. Both SCAD and GGC are currently receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 poll, and the game will serve as the first half of a doubleheader with the Grizzly men's team. Both games will be broadcast live on the Grizzly Digital Network and kickoff for the women is slated for 1 p.m.
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