Junior Natalie Maguire recorded the fourth hat trick of the 2024 season for the Georgia Gwinnett College women's soccer team, paving the way for a 3-1 victory over Rocky Mountain College (Montana) on Friday night at the Grizzly Soccer Complex.

GGC (4-0-0) matches its best start to a season and first unbeaten start of this significance since the 2018 season.

Maguire became the third different Grizzly to register three goals in a match this fall.

Two goals came in the first half as the hosts outshot the Battlin' Bears (1-1-0) by an 8-1 margin to dominate the opening period.

Her first tally came in the 24th minute following quick passes from sophomore Kayla Maguire, her younger sister, and junior Grace Clark. Natalie Maguire then beat Rocky Mountain goalkeeper Hannah Trumbull to a loose ball following a long pass from senior Ola Orelesi. That gave GGC a 2-0 lead at the 31-minute mark of the match.

Rocky Mountain converted a set piece into a goal midway through the second half as Georgia Dean redirected a free kick by Mila Allison, cutting GGC's lead in half at 2-1 in the 65th minute.

Any momentum that the Battlin' Bears had gained quickly was turned aside by Natalie Maguire's third goal in the 76th minute. The tally came after she wrestled control of the ball away from a Rocky Mountain defender at the top of the 18-yard box. The junior's shot deflected off the inside of the left post to complete the hat trick and gave the Grizzlies the winning margin.

Natalie Maguire joins senior Aurora Miglio and classmate Kendra Davis in recording hat tricks this season. Maguire now has scored a total of four goals.

The Grizzlies held a 12-8 shot advantage, with nine shots being on goal.

Junior goalkeeper Ayano Kurosawa picked up her fourth win of 2024 with a scoreless first half. Senior Matilda Johansson stopped five shots across the final 45 minutes of action.


  "They (Rocky Mountain) were gutsy and had all of the momentum after getting within a goal. Yet we held on. Gabriela (Rosas) creates stuff for us all the time with her high work rate. She single-handedly created our third goal, which proved to be so critical in the outcome," said Head Coach Dr. Mike Giuliano.
  After Rocky Mountain got within a goal, at 2-1, midway through the second half, junior Natalie Maguire took it upon herself to get back GGC's two-goal margin with a goal that completed her first collegiate hat trick. She won a battle for possession of the ball at the top of the 18-yard box and directed a shot off the inside part of the left goal post in the 76th minute of the match.
  24' – Natalie Maguire, GGC (Kayla Maguire and Grace Clark)
31' – Natalie Maguire, GGC (Ola Orelesi and Pernilla Westergren)
65' – Georgia Dean, RMC (Mila Allison)
76' – Natalie Maguire, GGC (unassisted)
 

• The Grizzlies held a 12-8 shot advantage against Rocky Mountain
• Junior Natalie Maguire registered the team's fourth hat trick of the season
• GGC recorded four corner kicks across the 90 minutes of action
• Six different Grizzlies attempted a shot in Friday's triumph

• GGC improves to 4-0-0 this fall; Rocky Mountain falls to 1-1-0 in 2024
• The Grizzlies received votes in the first NAIA Top 25 poll of the 2024 regular season
• Friday's match marked the first meeting between the two programs
• Georgia Gwinnett College is off to its first 4-0 start to a season since 2018

Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to travel to No. 6-ranked Life University (Georgia) on Monday, September 3, in Marietta, Georgia, starting at 7 p.m.