Senior Aurora Miglio and junior Kendra Davis each scored hat tricks as the Georgia Gwinnett College women's soccer team continued its hot offensive ways with a 9-1 victory against Montreat College (North Carolina) in the team's home opener Saturday afternoon at the Grizzly Soccer Complex.

The Grizzlies (2-0-0) have scored 21 goals through their first two matches, marking the most goals in a two-game stretch in program history.

Miglio accounted for a hat trick for the second consecutive match, this time putting the ball into the back of the net three times in the first half. Her first tally gave the hosts a 3-0 lead in the 11th minute. The forward also scored goals in the 13th and 18th minutes as GGC built a commanding 5-0 advantage in the first 20 minutes of the contest.

Junior Samara Dullabh opened the team's scoring in the fourth minute after receiving a pass from Davis. One minute later, Davis scored the first of her three goals in the productive Saturday match.

In the second half, sophomore Riko Yasuzawa buried a shot from the top of the 18-yard box to extend the Grizzlies' lead to 6-0 in the 48th minute.

Later, Miglio setup Davis' second tally for the team's seventh goal, coming in the 54th minute. Davis completed her second career hat trick with a tally during the 62nd minute. She ranks second on the team with five goals on the season.

Freshman Stella Van Der Sluis rounded out the Grizzly scorers by notching her first career goal in the 81st minute.

The Grizzlies outshot Montreat (1-1-0) by a 30-2 margin, with 24 shots being on goal. Eleven different players registered a shot, led by Miglio's seven shot attempts. Davis and Van Der Sluis each recorded four shots, while Dullabh had a goal and provided an assist.


  "We are just a lot better this year. Offensively, we just come at you (the opponent) with so many different players. We had a very, very good start to the game. Aurora is playing with so much confidence and magical things just seem to happen when she plays this way," said Head Coach Dr. Mike Giuliano, who coached his 750th career match on Saturday.
  The Grizzlies scored early and often Saturday to win the 2024 home opener, tallying five goals in the opening 18 minutes. Senior Aurora Miglio sparked the early offensive production with a hat trick – her second of the season – with successive goals within a seven-minute stretch of the first half. GGC scored five goals in the first half and added four more goals during the remaining 45 minutes of action.
  4' – Samara Dullabh, GGC (Kendra Davis)
5' – Kendra Davis, GGC (unassisted)
11' – Aurora Miglio, GGC (Pernilla Westergren and Samara Dullabh)
13' – Aurora Miglio, GGC (unassisted)
18' – Aurora Miglio, GGC (Bre Harvey)
48' – Riko Yasuzawa, GGC (Samara Dullabh and Aurora Miglio)
54' – Kendra Davis, GGC (Aurora Miglio)
62' – Kendra Davis, GGC (Cecilie Povlsen)
65' – Kayla Roseman, MC (Madelyn Schultz)
81' – Stella Van Der Sluis, GGC (Gabriela Rosas)
 

• The Grizzlies outshot Montreat by a 30-2 margin, highlighted by 24 shots being on goal
• GGC has scored 21 goals through its first two matches of the season
• Senior Aurora Miglio recorded her second hat trick of the young season, with all three goals coming during the first half on Saturday
• The team recorded seven corner kicks across the 90 minutes of action

• GGC improves to 2-0-0 on the season; Montreat drops to 1-1-0 this fall
• The Grizzlies received votes in the 2024 NAIA Top 25 Preseason Poll
• Georgia Gwinnett College now has a 4-1-1 series lead against the Cavaliers, including three victories on the Grizzly Soccer Complex turf
• The team has a 9-4 record all-time in home openers, including a 6-2 mark under Head Coach Dr. Mike Giuliano

Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to travel to Xavier University (Louisiana) on Tuesday, August 27, in Metairie, Louisiana, starting at 2 p.m.