Georgia Gwinnett's women's soccer team increased its winning streak to three matches on Wednesday evening as the Grizzlies shutout Brewton-Parker (Ga.) en route to an 8-0 victory. Wednesday's win is the second consecutive shutout for the Grizzlies as they defeated Life (Ga.) on Aug. 24, 7-0.

"Our focus going into the game was not really about winning; it was about improving our mentality," stated GGC head coach Chris Kouns.  "In the first half, we didn't show the improvement we hoped for, but instead focused on scoring goals on BPC.  To the ladies' credit, we did a tremendous job of focusing on our speed of play in the second half. As a result, we achieved our evening goal of improving from our last game."

Junior Amy Morland led the Grizzlies in the 8-0 win, recording her first career hat-trick.  Morland netted her first goal in the 17th minute of play and finished the night with back-to-back goals in the 63rd and 70th minutes, respectively, to complete the trifecta.  Morland joins five other Grizzlies in the record books with three goals in a match.  Previously, Amanda Dale, Dominique Fletcher, Nikki LeFevre, Sam Thomas, and Mary Vernetti also netted hat-tricks for the Grizzlies in the program's five-year history.



Sophomore midfielder Nicole Rodriguez also turned in a noteworthy effort for the Grizzlies, dishing out a career, single-game high three assists.

The Grizzlies entered the intermission with a 4-0 lead.  LeFevre started the scoring attack in the fourth minute of play, turning a breakaway run through BPC's backline into a scoring opportunity.  Twelve minutes later, Fletcher increased GGC's lead to 2-0 with a strike to the far right corner of the net.  Morland's first goal of the match came on a breakaway as the junior forward intercepted a misplayed ball by a Brewton-Parker defender and sliced a shot to the upper left corner of the frame.  Lexi Dietz wrapped up GGC's scoring attack in the first half, scoring the fourth goal of the opening frame.

Georgia Gwinnett (3-1) continued its offensive heroics in the second half.  Morland's second and third goals of the evening pushed the Grizzlies' lead to 6-0 entering the 70th while sophomore Kimmy Angelone netted her first goal as a Grizzly in the 78th minute to push the lead to 7-0.  GGC's eighth and final goal of the contest came in the final minute of regulation as GGC's 2015 scoring leader, Bristol Countess, netted her first goal of the 2016 season.

Of note, the Grizzlies' defense did not concede a shot during the 90-minute contest.  GGC's 45 shots in Wednesday's victory lands second all-time in team shots in a game.

Kouns concluded, "I thought tonight was a great opportunity to grow against an outside opponent.  I thought we had some really bright moments.  Amy's work rate on both sides of the ball was terrific.  Nicole had another solid night.  Our newer players really stepped as well.  Hopefully, we are able to build off tonight and put together another strong performance on Monday."

The Grizzlies are back in action on Monday when they host Middle Georgia State in the two squads' third meeting all-time. The all-time series is tied as both GGC and MGSU have won a match in the teams' two previous meetings.  First touch from the Grizzly Soccer Complex is set for 6:00 p.m.

Video coverage:
http://www.grizzlyathletics.com/GDN.php

Live stat links:
http://bit.ly/2bDiAtD

Tickets for Monday's match are $5 for adults, $3 for youth, seniors, and military, and free for children under five.  All members of the GGC community receive free admission with their Claw Card.  Season ticket packages are also on sale for all regular season contests.  For more information on ticketing, click here. Free game day parking is available in the deck at the entrance to the GGC campus.

Scoring Summary
03:26 – (GGC) Nikki LeFevre (unassisted)
15:20 – (GGC) Dominique Fletcher, assisted by Nicole Rodriguez
16:14 – (GGC) Amy Morland (unassisted)
18:16 – (GGC) Lexi Dietz, assisted by Bristol Countess & Nicole Rodriguez
62:40 – (GGC) Amy Morland, assisted by Nikki LeFevre
69:16 – (GGC) Amy Morland, Natalie Ferrin
77:10 – (GGC) Kimmy Angelone, assisted by Nicole Rodriguez
89:08 – (GGC) Bristol Countess, assisted by Amanda Yarger

By the Numbers
0 – Shots taken by Brewton-Parker
5 – Days until the Grizzlies face Middle Georgia State
8 – Total goals scored by GGC
12 – Corner kicks taken by Georgia Gwinnett
26 – Shots on goal by the Grizzlies
45 – Total shots taken by GGC

For all the latest on Grizzly Athletics, including news, scores, and features, visit GrizzlyAthletics.com.  Check out all the latest Grizzly Women's Soccer content and join the conversation by using @GGC_WSoccer on Twitter.