The Georgia Gwinnett College men's soccer team concluded its season-opening three-match road swing with an emphatic 6-0 triumph against Brescia University (Kentucky) in the Dalton Classic on Saturday afternoon at Dalton State College in Dalton, Georgia.

The Grizzlies (3-0-0) scored three goals in each half and registered 40 shots in the contest. The team's six goals are the most production since putting 16 shots into the back of the net against Fisk University (Tennessee) on September 13, 2023.

Freshman Alejandro Contrera paced the team's offensive attack by scoring Saturday's first two goals. The opener came after receiving a pass from sophomore Joshua Orue in the 30th minute. He then added another tally 88 seconds later for his team-leading third goal of the season.

Freshman Amadou Diop extended GGC's lead to 3-0 with an unassisted tally in the 41st minute. It was his first collegiate goal.

Three more goals were added during the second half, with two goals coming in the opening five minutes. Junior Toufik Najem converted a penalty kick in the 50th minute to give the Grizzlies a 4-0 advantage. Najem then setup junior midfielder Ryuji Kubota just 29 seconds later.

Senior Patrick Gawliczek Rodriguez netted his first goal of the 2024 season to cap the scoring in the 64th minute.

The Grizzlies outshot Brescia (0-2-0) by a 40-2 margin, with 27 shots being on goal. Fourteen different players attempted a shot in the match, led by Contrera's 11 shots. Freshmen Evan Alvarez and Josefa Simao joined Orue in recording four shot attempts apiece.

The team recorded 15 corner kicks in Saturday's victory.

Goalkeepers Dagoberto Romero and Gal Grodetzki combined for the shutout, with Romero playing the first 64 minutes to pick up his third win of the season.
  "This was the best performance of the season. We created a lot of good opportunities and once we got one (goal) it fueled us to score more. I'm more pleased with the clean sheet (shutout). Being up 3-0 at halftime the message was to play a professional second half and limit their scoring chances," said Head Coach Steve DeCou.
  The Grizzlies scored three goals across the final 15 minutes of the first half to build a commanding 3-0 halftime advantage. Freshman Alejandro Contrera found the back of the net for the team's first two goals in the 30th and 31st minutes. Classmate Amadou Diop increased GGC's lead with his first collegiate goal during the 41st minute as the team registered 23 shot attempts over the course of the opening 45 minutes of Saturday's match.
  30' – Alejandro Contrera, GGC (Joshua Orue)
31' – Alejandro Contrera, GGC (unassisted)
41' – Amadou Diop, GGC (Alejandro Contrera and Nic Peranitsch)
50' – Toufik Najem, GGC (Penalty kick)
50' – Ryuji Kubota, GGC (Toufik Najem)
64' – Patrick Gawliczek Rodriguez, GGC (unassisted)
 

• GGC outshot Brescia by a 40-2 margin, highlighted by 27 shots being on goal
• Freshman Alejandro Contrera became the first Grizzly this season to tally multiple goals in a match, increasing his season total to three goals
• The Grizzlies recorded 16 corner kicks across the 90 minutes of action
• Twenty-four GGC players saw game action in Saturday's win

• GGC improves to 3-0-0 this fall; Brescia falls to 0-2-0 on the season
• The Grizzlies defeated Brescia 3-2 in 2023 at the Dalton Classic in the only previous match between the two programs
• Georgia Gwinnett College has scored 11 goals through the first three matches
• Saturday's match concluded the team's three-match road swing to open the season

Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to open its home schedule with a match against Bryan College (Tennessee) in the Labor Day Grizzly Classic on Saturday, August 31, at the Grizzly Soccer Complex, starting at 8 p.m.