The Georgia Gwinnett College men's soccer will take a five-match winning streak into postseason play after concluding another successful regular season with a 3-0 Homecoming victory over Spartanburg Methodist College (South Carolina) on Saturday afternoon at the Grizzly Soccer Complex.
GGC (10-4-1) dominated all factions of the match, outshooting the Pioneers (5-7-4) by a commanding 15-3 margin and allowed only one shot on goal in recording the team's fifth straight shutout – and sixth of the season.
Two of the Grizzlies' goals came in the first half, when the team enjoyed a 9-1 shot advantage. Freshman
Santino Mazzoni opened the scoring in the 17th minute on a volley six yards away from the opposing goal, following a right corner kick by senior
Francisco Osorio.
Then, the hosts took a 2-0 advantage when sophomore
Jean Malilo found the back of the net after beating the Spartanburg Methodist goalkeeper on a one-on-one situation in the 38th minute.
Junior
Dylan Cedeno closed out the scoring in the second half with a perfectly placed shot 25 yards from the opposing goal that got just under the crossbar in the 70th minute.
Mazzoni, Malilo and Cedeno scored their second goals of the season.
Senior
Joshua Orue had scoring opportunities in each half. One of his shots struck a goal post near the end of the first 45 minutes of action. He then hit the crossbar with a booming shot during the second half. Orue had a team-high four shot attempts in the match.
Osorio added three shot attempts while freshman
JJ Grimaldo and Malilo each had two shots.
Goalkeepers
Dagoberto Romero and
Lucca Schmitel combined on the shutout. Romero, a senior, made the only save of the match when in front of the goal for the first 87 minutes. Schmitel was seeing action in his second match of his freshman season.
Coach's Corner
"This was a great way to end the regular season and sets us up well for postseason play. We have two weeks to get healthy and prepared for the (Continental Athletic Conference) tournament, and hopefully more. It was nice to see us converting some of our (offensive) set pieces. It has been a concerted effort on our behalf to get better in that area, especially heading into the postseason," said Head Coach
Steve DeCou.
Turning Point
The Grizzlies scored twice in the first 38 minutes of the match to take a 2-0 halftime advantage. A corner kick by senior
Francisco Osorio provided the opportunity for freshman
Santino Mazzoni to score the first goal on a volley into the back of the net. Then, sophomore
Jean Malilo swiftly maneuvered around Spartanburg Methodist goalkeeper on a one-on-one situation and placed a shot into the wide open net.
Goals
17' –
Santino Mazzoni, GGC (
Francisco Osorio)
38' –
Jean Malilo, GGC (Unassisted)
70' –
Dylan Cedeno, GGC (
Jean Malilo)
Inside The Numbers
- GGC had a 15-3 margin in shots and 7-1 edge in shots on goal
- Freshman Santino Mazzoni, sophomore Jean Malilo and junior Dylan Cedeno each scored their second goals of the season
- Goalkeepers Dagoberto Romero and Lucca Schmitel combined for the shutout – the team's fifth straight and sixth of the season; Dagoberto made the only save from an opposing shot
- The Grizzlies had four corner kicks across the 90-minute match
News & Notes
- Georgia Gwinnett improves to 10-4-1 in 2026; Spartanburg Methodist is now 5-7-4 on the season
- GGC has outscored its opponents by a 15-0 margin during the five-match winning streak
- The team had a 6-3-1 record in home matches during the regular season
- Georgia Gwinnett College celebrated Homecoming on Saturday
Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College will now prepare for postseason play. The Continental Athletic Conference tournament's four-team Summit bracket will have matches November 8-10 in Lawrenceville. The tournament's seeds and schedule will be announced later by CAC officials.
