The No. 8-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College men's soccer team opened this weekend's Continental Athletic Conference Classic with a 2-1 victory against previously unbeaten Viterbo University (Wisconsin) on Friday afternoon, in a match played on the Mount Mercy University campus in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Three minutes after entering the game as a substitute, sophomore
Jason Strambu headed in a crossing pass in front of the opposing net in the 41st minute to give the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead. Senior
Juan Cruz Parisi Sitjar delivered the line drive crossing pass from the right side of the pitch. Strambu jumped over a Viterbo defender to deflect the ball inside the left goal post.
The Grizzlies (8-1-1) took a 2-0 lead in the 73rd minute on a shot by junior
Diego Milessi from the top of the 18-yard box in front of the Viterbo goal. It was the third goal of the season for the midfielder. He benefited from quick passes by senior
Karim Tmimi and junior
Aleksandar Rajkovic in the middle of the pitch.
Viterbo (11-1-0) answered with a goal by Conner Erdmann in the 75th minute.
However, GGC held the V-Hawks to just three shots for the rest of the match to secure the victory.
Georgia Gwinnett College attempted eight corner kicks and held a 19-10 shot advantage on Friday. Strambu led the Grizzlies with six shots, while senior
Karim Tmimi added five shots.
The match was played with 20-25 mile per hour crosswinds and a drizzle during the first half. There was sleet for moments throughout the second half.
"Scoring a couple of goals and playing the way that we did to get a good result against a team that was undefeated coming into the match is a strong start to the weekend. Scoring in the last five minutes (of the first half) was a confidence boost for us and a gut punch for them going into the halftime break. Jason (Strambu) has had a great week of training and we thought that his size and speed could be a big factor for us late in the first half," said Head Coach
Steve DeCou.
Junior
Diego Milessi drilled a shot from the top of the 18-yard box after a quick sequence of passes from senior
Karim Tmimi and classmate
Aleksandar Rajkovic to give the Grizzlies a 2-0 lead in the 73rd minute. GGC was creating chances during the second half.
41' –
Jason Strambu, GGC (
Juan Cruz Parisi Sitjar)
73' –
Diego Milessi, GGC (
Aleksandar Rajkovic,
Karim Tmimi)
75' – Conner Erdmann, VU (Benjamin Hoffman)
- GGC held a 19-10 shot advantage, including a 7-3 edge in shots on goal
- The Grizzlies attempted eight corner kicks during the 90 minutes of action
- Junior Diego Milessi and sophomore Jason Strambu each scored their third goals of the season
- Five different players registered at least two shots
- GGC improves to 8-1-1 in 2022, while Viterbo falls to 11-1-0 on the season
- Georgia Gwinnett College was ranked No. 8 in this week's NAIA Top 25 poll; Viterbo received votes in the same poll
- Friday's match marked the first meeting between the two conference opponents
- The Grizzlies have scored 40 goals in 10 matches this season
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to play Bellevue University (Nebraska) to conclude the CAC Classic in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Sunday, October 16, at noon.
