Georgia Gwinnett College Athletics

With three second-half goals the Georgia Gwinnett College men's soccer team rallied for a 3-2 victory at Truett-McConnell University (Ga.) on Tuesday afternoon.

The Grizzlies have now won three straight matches – their longest winning streak of the 2018 season.

Trailing 1-0 at halftime, GGC (7-5-1) quickly squared the match three minutes into the second half on freshman Aoci Pilipili's first collegiate goal. The visitors then took the lead, 2-1, on a goal from another freshman, Omar Thali, in the 62nd minute.

A long-distance goal from sophomore Myles Barber in the 73rd minute extended GGC's lead to 3-1 lead. Barber chipped the ball over the Truett-McConnell goalkeeper, who had come off the line to play a ball earlier in the playing sequence.

Joao Costa scored two goals in the match for Truett-McConnell (7-7-1). He converted a penalty kick with 10 minutes remaining to cut the margin to one goal, 3-2.

The Grizzlies attempted 17 shots in the match and recorded 11 corner kicks.
 
Coach's Corner
"While we outshot them in the first half, the ball was just a little off-target. We continued to create pressure in the second half and Aoci got a quick interplay in the first three minutes. That got us back in the game. If it goes along still 1-0, then maybe we start pressing. We also got a great goal from Omar and Myles had great awareness to see the goalkeeper being off his line," said Head Coach Steve DeCou.
 
Turning Point
Trailing by one goal to begin the second half, the Grizzlies applied pressure throughout the field to pick up the road victory. A pair of freshmen provided the spark. Aoci Pilipili found the back of the net three minutes into the period. Then, Omar Thali drilled a shot in the 62nd minute to give the visitors the lead. GGC would not add a third tally in the 73rd minute.
 
Goals
17' – Joao Costa, TMU (Giovanni Giraudo)
48' – Aoci Pilipili, GGC (Toni Tiente, Michael Weber)
62' – Omar Thali, GGC (Toni Tiente, Ian Aramburu)
73' – Myles Barber, GGC (unassisted)
80' – Joao Costa, TMU (penalty kick)
 
Inside The Numbers

• The Grizzlies outshot Truett-McConnell 17-to-13 over the 90 minutes of action
• Sophomores Toni Tiente and Krishna Clarke each attempted four shots to lead the team
• GGC recorded 11 corner kicks

News & Notes

• GGC improves to 7-5-1 on the season; Truett-McConnell drops to 7-7-1 in 2018.
• The team has won three straight matches
• The Grizzlies were receiving votes in the most recent NAIA Top 25 poll
• GGC leads the all-time series history 3-0

Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College hosts Bob Jones University (S.C.) on Friday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. on Senior Night at the Grizzly Soccer Complex. The program will honor its five seniors in pregame festivities.