Women's Soccer Wins First Conference Championship
In a season of first-time accomplishments, the Georgia Gwinnett College women's soccer team checked off another item on the list – capturing its first Association of Independent Institutions tournament championship with a 3-1 victory against the University of Jamestown Saturday night at the Grizzly Soccer Complex.
The matchup featured the top two seeded teams in the tournament, but the Grizzlies quickly grabbed momentum by scoring three first-half goals.
Junior Lauren Moss got the tournament hosts on the scoreboard off a corner kick in the fifth minute. Junior Ana Gonzalez played a corner to Moss who drilled a shot from 20 yards out over the leaping Jamestown goalkeeper.
Five minutes later, the Gonzalez-to-Moss combination worked again as Moss connected on a long shot into the upper right corner of the goal to give the Grizzlies a 2-0 advantage. Moss was named the 2017 A.I.I. Women's Soccer Championship's Most Outstanding Player.
Gonzalez also found the back of the net to stretch the margin to 3-0 in the 31st minute on a rebound goal. Senior Amy Morland initial shot attempt was saved by the Jamestown goalkeeper.
Jamestown got its only tally of the match in the 65th minute to trim GGC's lead to 3-1. But, the defense and sophomore goalkeeper Sophie Hoare would keep the second-seeded Jimmies off the scoreboard the rest of the way.
GGC earns the A.I.I.'s automatic bid to the NAIA national tournament. The Grizzlies are ranked No. 20 in the NAIA Top 25 poll and are unbeaten in their last 16 matches.
