The first and last five minutes of the first half were detrimental to the Georgia Gwinnett College women's soccer team in a 3-0 loss to Indiana Wesleyan University in the first round of the NAIA Opening Round's Marion (Indiana) Bracket on Thursday evening.
Sydney Brown led the No. 2-seeded Wildcats (10-2-3) with a pair of goals. She opened the scoring in the second minute of the match when she converted a breakaway goal.
The No. 3 seed Grizzlies (8-6-1) were valiantly striving to get back into the action when Mallory Krueger drilled a free kick 25 yards away into the left side of the GGC goal to give Indiana Wesleyan a 2-0 lead in the 40th minute.
Brown scored her second goal of the match in the 69th minute. The Wildcats outshot the Grizzlies by a 15-6 margin.
Georgia Gwinnett College was making its fourth straight appearance in the national tournament and fifth time overall. The team lost to Indiana Wesleyan in its past two postseason appearances, both at the Marion Opening Round.
Indiana Wesleyan advances to play Central Methodist University (Missouri) in the championship match on Saturday, April 17, at 6 p.m.
After allowing a goal in the opening minutes of the match, the Grizzlies gave up a goal off a free kick with five minutes left in the first half. Those goals in the early and closing stretches of the first half were too much for the team to overcome, especially on the opponent's home turf.
2' – Sydney Brown, IWU (unassisted)
40' – Mallory Krueger, IWU (unassisted)
69' – Sydney Brown, IWU (unassisted)
- Indiana Wesleyan outshot the Grizzlies by a 16-7 margin, including a 6-4 advantage on shots on goal
- Junior Joy Mertzig led the team with two shot attempts
- The Grizzlies recorded three corner kicks in the match
- GGC finished the season with a 8-6-1 record, while Indiana Wesleyan improves to 10-2-3
- The Grizzlies were the No. 3 seed in the Marion Bracket
- The team has lost both of its meetings against Indiana Wesleyan, with both matches coming in the NAIA Marion Opening Round
