The No. 8-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College men's soccer team dominated the statistics but had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Louisiana Christian University in Thursday night's match played on a neutral pitch at Dalton State College in Dalton, Georgia.
The Grizzlies (1-0-1) outshot LCU by a commanding 21-10 margin and doubled the shots on goal by an 8-4 edge over the Wildcats (0-0-1), which received votes in the NAIA Top 25 preseason poll.
Senior
Odin Solheim gave GGC a quick 1-0 lead by scoring a goal in the third minute of the match, following a pass from classmate
Antoine Ferez.
The team maintained that one-goal advantage until Sergio Pita Martin squared the match with an unassisted goal in the 52nd minute.
Junior
Aoci Pilipili threatened with a shot that struck the crossbar in the 64th minute.
Later, Ferez had a shot stopped by Louisiana Christian goalkeeper Rodrigo Silva in the 81st minute. It was the first of three rapid-fire shots that the Grizzlies took across the last 10 minutes. Pilipili attempted a shot in the 85th minute before senior
Emanuele Sordi added a shot in the 87th minute. Silva saved both shots to keep the match even at 1-1.
Thursday's match marked GGC's first road match of the season.
"We had several guys step up their play tonight. I thought we did a great job of managing the inclement weather conditions while facing a good opponent. Our defensive play improved since (last Saturday's) first game. I also was pleased with our response following the match-tying goal," said Head Coach
Steve DeCou.
The Grizzlies applied heavy pressure on Louisiana Christian's defense in hopes of scoring the tiebreaking goal over the last 30 minutes of the match. Junior
Aoci Pilipili struck the crossbar in the 64th minute – one of his five second-half shots. Three more shots were stopped by LCU goalkeeper Rodrigo Silva in the final 10 minutes. Senior
Emanuele Sordi attempted the team's final shot in the 87th minute.
3' –
Odin Solheim, GGC (
Joshua Orue,
Antoine Ferez)
52' – Sergio Pita Martin, LCU (unassisted)
- GGC held a 21-10 shot advantage, highlighted by an 8-4 margin in shots on goal
- The Grizzlies recorded five corner kicks in the match
- Both teams were twice called for offsides across the 90-minute match
- Junior Aoci Pilipili attempted a match-high five shots
- GGC is 1-0-1 in 2023; Louisiana Christian opened the season on Thursday
- The Grizzlies were ranked No. 8 in the NAIA Top 25 preseason poll; Louisiana Christian received votes in the same poll
- Thursday's match marked the first meeting between two programs
- The team is now 13-6-1 all-time in neutral site games
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to face Brescia University (Kentucky) on Saturday, August 26, once again at Dalton, Georgia, starting at 10 a.m.
