The Georgia Gwinnett College men's soccer team relied on its best defensive performance of the season to defeat Campbellsville University (Kentucky) 1-0 on Wednesday evening at the Grizzly Soccer Complex. The match began the Grizzlies' four-match home stand.

The lone score of the match came as senior Emanuele Sordi netted his team-leading eighth goal of the 2023 season in the 80th minute as GGC dominated the pace of play in the second half.

Intricate passes from senior Diego Milessi and sophomore Mawia Haroun put the ball into the 18-yard box in front of the opposing goal. Sordi managed to get control of the ball and struck it past a sprawled Campbellsville goalkeeper into the lower right corner of the net.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies (5-3-3), ranked No. 23 in the NAIA Top 25 poll announced on Wednesday, limited the visiting Tigers (8-3-1) to five shots in collecting their third shutout of the season.

Sophomore goalkeeper Andreas von Muecke stopped two of Campbellsville's shots on goal.

GGC spread its 11 shots across seven players, with seniors Khaled Qasum, Odin Solheim, Sordi, and Milessi each collecting two shots. The team took six of the seven corner kicks in the 90-minute match.


  "We needed this win and the way we grinded out there tonight is huge for us going forward. This was our best defensive performance of the season. We did a much better job with our shape on the pitch, and it resulted in nothing really threatening Andreas (in front of the GGC goal)," said Head Coach Steve DeCou.
  Georgia Gwinnett College's leading goal scorer for the 2023 season, Emanuele Sordi, came through in a clutch situation, netting the only tally of the match in the 80th minute. The Grizzlies also limited Campbellsville to just five shots, including two shots on goal, in a stingy defensive effort to pick up the home victory.
  80' – Emanuele Sordi, GGC (Mawia Haroun, Diego Milessi)
 

• The Grizzlies outshot Campbellsville by an 11-5 margin
• Sophomore goalkeeper Andreas von Muecke made two saves in recording the shutout
• Seven different GGC players registered a shot attempt in the home win
• The Grizzlies took six of the seven corner kicks in Wednesday's match

• GGC improves to 5-3-3 on the season; Campbellsville drops to 8-3-1 this fall
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 23 in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll, announced on Wednesday, October 4
• Wednesday marked the first meeting between the two colleges
• Georgia Gwinnett College opened a four-match home stand

Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to host Washington Adventist University (Maryland) as part of the Continental Athletic Conference Classic on Wednesday, October 11, from the Grizzly Soccer Complex, starting at 5 p.m.