Despite having several scoring opportunities, the Georgia Gwinnett College women's soccer team had to settle for a scoreless draw Saturday night against No. 19 Truett-McConnell University (Georgia) in Cleveland, Georgia. The match was the team's first road contest of the season and second straight match against a nationally ranked opponent.
The Grizzlies (1-0-1) were denied on back-to-back shots from junior
Kyara Armenta and sophomore
Clara Lidquist in the fifth minute following a corner kick by senior
Addie Adame. (New collegiate rules end matches after both teams have played 90 minutes, even if there is a tie. There are no overtimes in regular season matches.)
Adame's kick sailed beyond a group of Truett-McConnell defenders before getting to Armenta, whose shot was turned away at the last second by a defender in the middle of the goal line. Off the deflection, Lidquist picked up the loose ball near the right post. Her shot was blocked by another opposing defender.
A few minutes later, Armenta had a breakaway scoring opportunity that was stopped by Truett-McConnell goalkeeper Emelie Taylor near the net.
Truett-McConnell (0-1-1) had its share of first-half scoring chances as well. Eliska Dvorakova got behind the Grizzly's defense in the 33rd minute. This time it was GGC junior goalkeeper
Matilda Waldt who came up with a key save.
Then, the Bears hit the crossbar on Nadia Ivanchenko's shot in the 42nd minute.
GGC attempted five corner kicks in the opening 18 minutes of the second half. Armenta hit the post with a shot from the right side of the 18-yard box in the 81st minute.
The Grizzlies nearly scored a dramatic goal in the final 30 seconds of regulation as a shot near midfield from freshman
Kendra Davis floated over Taylor and graced the top netting of the Truett-McConnell goal.
The Bears held a slim 15-13 shot advantage during the 90 minutes of action, including a 5-3 edge in shots on goal. The Grizzlies attempted nine corner kicks in the match.
Armenta and Lidquist led GGC's offensive effort by tallying three shots apiece. Freshman
Saga Andersson came off the bench to register two shots.
Waldt made four saves in the first half before sophomore goalkeeper
Matilda Johansson stopped the Bears' lone shot on goal in the second 45 minutes of play.
"Being unbeaten after playing two top-20 teams, with another coming Tuesday (at No. 14 Lindsey Wilson College), made this a good draw for us, especially on the road. Both teams had great chances and our goalkeepers once again came up with big saves. Meanwhile, we just couldn't put away any of our good scoring chances," said Head Coach
Dr. Mike Giuliano.
Despite neither team finding the back of the net over the 90 minutes of action, both teams had excellent scoring opportunities. The Grizzlies were denied of a goal in the fifth minute when a Truett-McConnell defender deflected the ball away from crossing the middle of the goal. Then, Georgia Gwinnett College junior goalkeeper
Matilda Waldt stopped a breakaway chance in the first half and the hosts hit the net's crossbar in the 41st minute. Freshman
Kendra Davis duplicated the feat by floating a ball just over the crossbar on a shot from midfield in the closing seconds of the match.
- Truett-McConnell outshot the Grizzlies by a 15-13 margin
- The Grizzlies registered three shots on goal during the 90 minutes of action
- GGC attempted nine corner kicks in the match
- The Bears were called for four offsides violations
- GGC stands 1-0-1 this fall, while Truett-McConnell stands 0-1-1 on the season
- Georgia Gwinnett College was receiving votes in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 Poll; Truett-McConnell stood as No. 19 in the same preseason poll
- GGC holds a 4-1-1 lead in the series history, including a 2-0-1 record in matches played at Truett-McConnell
- The Grizzlies are 5-5-1 all-time in road opening matches and have not won their first road match of a season since 2019
Georgia Gwinnett College continues its road trip with a match against No. 14 Lindsey Wilson College on Tuesday, August 30, from Columbia, Kentucky, starting at 8 p.m.
