The Georgia Gwinnett College women's soccer team kicked off the 2022 season, literally, with an impressive 6-1 victory over No. 18-ranked SCAD Savannah (Georgia) on Wednesday evening at the Grizzly Soccer Complex.
The Grizzlies (1-0-0) found the back of the net on six of their 11 shots and tallied four second-half goals for the team's first victory over a nationally ranked opponent since defeating No. 12 Lindsey Wilson College (Kentucky) 2-0 on September 18, 2021.
"When was the last time we beat a top-20 team 6-1?" asked Head Coach
Dr. Mike Giuliano before answering his own question. "That would be never. Six is a lot of goals."
GGC got on the scoreboard in the 21st minute from junior
Kyara Armenta on a shot from 10 yards in front of the opposing net following a crossing pass from junior
Victoria Watson.
The lead grew to 2-0 on a goal from senior
Addie Adame in the 27th minute when she blasted a shot from the penalty kick spot near the goal after receiving a pass from sophomore
Aurora Miglio.
SCAD Savannah (2-1-0) quickly answered to close the gap to 2-1 behind Abigail Siddall's third goal of the season. The Bees outshot the Grizzlies 8-3 during the opening 45 minutes.
Georgia Gwinnett College dominated the second half as its depth provided a boost and separated the team's play. Giuliano utilized 22 players in the 90 minutes of action in the season opener.
"They (SCAD) had figured us out towards the end of the first half by positioning a player on the last defender. Our defensive backs sorted it out and to their credit they (SCAD Savannah) abandoned the passing game. We did not give up a lot of good looks at goal after that," said the GGC coach.
Junior
Pernilla Westergren gave the Grizzlies a 3-1 lead with a goal in the 54th minute.
Freshman
Rikke Steenhold tallied the first goal of her collegiate career in the 66th minute before Watson found the back of the net in the 80th and 84th minutes to cap the team's strong scoring offensive performance – a major emphasis for improvement from last season.
Watson paced the team with a pair of goals and an assist.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Matilda Johansson made nine saves during a scoreless 45 minutes in front of the GGC goal in the second half. This came after junior
Matilda Waldt registered five saves in the first half. SCAD Savannah attempted 15 shots on goal in the match.
"We just have so much team speed up top (of the team's formation). We're blessed to have six players applying pressure, not just two or three players (like last season). SCAD is a really good offensive team. We were able to quickly get back with our forwards. That's important with SCAD committing so many players on offense," said Head Coach
Dr. Mike Giuliano.
The Grizzlies tallied four goals in the second half to pull away from a 2-1 halftime advantage. Junior
Pernilla Westergren drilled a shot from inside the 18-yard box on the right side nearly 10 minutes into the second half – setting the tone for the productive second half. Classmate
Victoria Watson scored twice within a five-minute span in the final 10 minutes.
21' –
Kyara Armenta, GGC (
Victoria Watson)
27' –
Addie Adame, GGC (
Aurora Miglio,
Arley Valle)
29' – Abigail Siddall, SCAD (Sydney Chura)
54' –
Pernilla Westergren, GGC (
Mariana Clarke)
66' –
Rikke Steenhold, GGC (
Kendra Davis)
80' –
Victoria Watson, GGC (
Damaris Gaines)
84' –
Victoria Watson, GGC (unassisted)
- SCAD Savannah outshot the Grizzlies by a 19-11 margin
- Junior Matilda Waldt and sophomore Matilda Johansson combined for 14 saves, led by Johansson's nine saves during the second half
- GGC recorded four corner kicks in the contest
- The Grizzlies scored on four of its eight shots in the second half
- GGC improves to 1-0-0 on the season while SCAD Savannah drops to 2-1-0 this fall
- Georgia Gwinnett College was receiving votes in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 Poll; SCAD Savannah stood as No. 18 in the same preseason poll
- GGC took a 4-3 lead in the series history after the Bees had won the previous two meetings
- The Grizzlies improved to 7-4 all-time in season openers
- The six goals tie for the second most tallies recorded by GGC in a season opener
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to travel to No. 19 Truett-McConnell University on Saturday, August 27, from Cleveland, Georgia, starting at 7 p.m.
