The Georgia Gwinnett College women's soccer team captured the 2024 Continental Athletic Conference championship by defeating Bellevue University (Nebraska) 5-4 in a penalty kick shootout after the tournament's top two seeds battled to a 1-1 draw for 110 minutes Wednesday evening at the Grizzly Soccer Complex.

GGC (12-6-2) captured its seventh conference title since 2017 and will be making its eighth consecutive NAIA national tournament appearance.

The Grizzlies tied the match in the 58th minute after junior Natalie Maguire stole the ball from a Bellevue defender and beat goalkeeper Alessia Ricciardi in a one-on-one situation.

"I dribbled around the keeper. My mind goes blank in those situations and that is when I play my best soccer. This (winning the CAC title) was a team effort, and everybody played extremely hard," said Maguire.

The match-tying goal came seven minutes after Bellevue (9-5-3) took a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute as Mia Hurt drilled a distant shot past a leaping GGC goalkeeper Ayano Kurosawa.

The top-seeded Grizzlies nearly took a 2-1 advantage in the 67th minute when sophomore Cecilie Povlsen sailed a shot just over the crossbar after receiving a left crossing pass from junior Grace Clark.

Kurosawa, the CAC Goalkeeper of the Year, stopped a shot from Bellevue's Emma Madej in the 70th minute to keep the match deadlocked at a goal apiece.

The tournament hosts registered four shot attempts in overtime, with Maguire almost netting a goal in the closing seconds of the first 10-minute period.

GGC outshot Bellevue by a 15-8 margin in the match, highlighted by seven shots coming during the second half.

In the penalty kick shootout, Georgia Gwinnett College calmly made its first three attempts by Pernilla Westergren, Aurora Miglio and Kurosawa while shooting second in each round. The opportunity for victory opened when Bellevue's Layla Vazquez hit the crossbar to begin the fourth round.

Clark found the back of the net to give the Grizzlies the edge. Then, senior Thilde Engholm sealed the victory by converting the fifth penalty kick attempt.

"It was a lot of nerves and as the last shooter you don't know if it's going to come down to you or not. I stayed focused and when it was time for me, I placed it into the corner for the winning kick. It was an unreal feeling," said Engholm.

Maguire added, "We had confidence in each player as they stepped up in the penalty kick shootout. I couldn't be anymore prouder of them."

Penalty kicks were the deciding factor in a GGC-Bellevue matchup for the second time in the last three seasons, with the Bruins coming out on top in 2022.


 
Coach's Corner
"This was one of our hardest working efforts of the season. We won a lot of head balls today. We deserved to win this game. This was a classic match. We showed great composure in coming back. I've been watching a lot of college soccer playoff games this year and the way we performed in the penalty kick shootout was one of the best penalty kick-taking that I have seen. I was so impressed with all of their efforts," said Head Coach Dr. Mike Giuliano.
 
Turning Point
Wednesday's championship match was a defensive stalemate, with both goals being scored in the opening 15 minutes of the second half. After two scoreless overtime sessions, the penalty kick shootout came down to the Grizzlies successfully converting all five of their kicks, winning by a 5-4 decision. Senior Thilde Engholm sealed the shootout victory by drilling a shot into the back of the net in the fifth attempt of the session.
 
Goals
51' – Mia Hurt, BU (Maju Serrano)
58' – Natalie Maguire, GGC (Unassisted)
 
Inside The Numbers

• The Grizzlies outshot Bellevue by a 15-8 margin, with seven shots coming in the second half
• Junior Natalie Maguire scored her 10th goal of the season on Wednesday
• GGC recorded five corner kicks across the 90 minutes of action
• Junior goalkeeper Ayano Kurosawa made two of her three saves in the second half

News & Notes

• GGC is 12-6-2 on the season; Bellevue concludes the 2024 season with a 9-5-3 record
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 22 in the final regular season NAIA Top 25 poll
• Georgia Gwinnett College has won seven CAC tournament titles
• GGC was the No. 1 seed in the 2024 CAC tournament; Bellevue stood as the No. 2 seed

Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College will find out its NAIA national tournament assignment when the NAIA First & Second Round pairings are announced by the national office on Saturday, November 16, at 2 p.m.