Box Score MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – After waiting nearly 17 hours to play the first match of their Florida road swing, the Georgia Gwinnett women's soccer team was dealt its first loss of the season on Saturday morning, dropping a 3-2 decision to St. Thomas.
The match, which was scheduled for a 4 p.m. start on Friday afternoon, was postponed due to inclement weather in the Miami area, and it officially kicked off at 9 a.m. on Saturday at STU Soccer Field.
After going down 3-0 in the first half hour, the Grizzlies attempted to mount a late comeback through a pair of Bristol Countess strikes, but the effort would prove all for naught as the Bobcats held on to pick up their first victory of the season.
"I think we just came out flat in the first half," GGC head coach Chris Kouns said. "We gave up three goals and just dug ourselves too deep a hole. We were confident that we'd be able to bounce back in the second half, and for the most part, we did. I'm very proud of how we played after the half, and it feels like we just ran out of time. We have to bring that same kind of intensity to both halves."
With the loss, the Grizzlies, who are currently receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 poll, dropped to 2-1 on the year. Meanwhile, the Bobcats improved to 1-2 after dropping back-to-back overtime contests to opponents ranked inside the NAIA's Top 10.
The Bobcats wasted little time in opening up the match's scoring as Michelle Bailey found the back of the net in the sixth minute. Sharon Tejada, who assisted the first goal, doubled the lead just over five minutes later before assisting once more in the 28th to round out STU's scoring.
"Our goalkeepers won't have a first half like that very often, but when it does happen, it's the rest of the team's job to help them out," Kouns said. "It wasn't a great half for them, but field players can do that all the time without it resulting in a goal. I'm very pleased with the focus that both Courtney McKenzie and Courtney Hicks displayed, and that's what you have to have to play in goal. You can't let it affect you going forward."
Countess put the Grizzlies on the board in the 81st, and she'd follow up just over three minutes later with another from distance. The sophomore out of Harvest, Ala., who bagged her first goal of the season in overtime last week, now leads the Green and Gray with three on the year.
GGC will return to action on Sunday with an 11 a.m. kick against third-ranked Keiser in West Palm Beach, Fla.
NOTES: GGC is now 0-1-1 all-time vs. St. Thomas and 0-4-1 against teams that hail from the state of Florida … The Grizzlies are now 1-3 all-time in the first road match of the season … Kelsey Griswold, a senior has played in all 58 matches in school history … Goalkeeper Courtney McKenzie has started every match this season, and she's the first freshman goalkeeper to start since Magaly Gutierrez in 2012, which was the first women's soccer season in school history … GGC is 12-10-1 all-time in the month of September.
###
