Skip To Main Content

Scoreboard

Events and Results

Composite Calendar

Georgia Gwinnett College Athletics

Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies

2024 CAC Women's Soccer

24_WSOC_CAC_TitleBanner

Penalty Kicks Give Grizzlies 2024 CAC Women's Soccer Championship

The Georgia Gwinnett College women's soccer team captured the 2024 Continental Athletic Conference championship by defeating Bellevue University (Nebraska) 5-4 in a penalty kick shootout after the tournament's top two seeds battled to a 1-1 draw for 110 minutes Wednesday evening at the Grizzly Soccer Complex.

GGC (12-6-2) captured its seventh conference title since 2017 and will be making its eighth consecutive NAIA national tournament appearance.

The Grizzlies tied the match in the 58th minute after junior Natalie Maguire stole the ball from a Bellevue defender and beat goalkeeper Alessia Ricciardi in a one-on-one situation.

"I dribbled around the keeper. My mind goes blank in those situations and that is when I play my best soccer. This (winning the CAC title) was a team effort, and everybody played extremely hard," said Maguire.

The match-tying goal came seven minutes after Bellevue (9-5-3) took a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute as Mia Hurt drilled a distant shot past a leaping GGC goalkeeper Ayano Kurosawa.

The top-seeded Grizzlies nearly took a 2-1 advantage in the 67th minute when sophomore Cecilie Povlsen sailed a shot just over the crossbar after receiving a left crossing pass from junior Grace Clark.

Kurosawa, the CAC Goalkeeper of the Year, stopped a shot from Bellevue's Emma Madej in the 70th minute to keep the match deadlocked at a goal apiece.

The tournament hosts registered four shot attempts in overtime, with Maguire almost netting a goal in the closing seconds of the first 10-minute period.

GGC outshot Bellevue by a 15-8 margin in the match, highlighted by seven shots coming during the second half.

In the penalty kick shootout, Georgia Gwinnett College calmly made its first three attempts by Pernilla Westergren, Aurora Miglio and Kurosawa while shooting second in each round. The opportunity for victory opened when Bellevue's Layla Vazquez hit the crossbar to begin the fourth round.

Clark found the back of the net to give the Grizzlies the edge. Then, senior Thilde Engholm sealed the victory by converting the fifth penalty kick attempt.

"It was a lot of nerves and as the last shooter you don't know if it's going to come down to you or not. I stayed focused and when it was time for me, I placed it into the corner for the winning kick. It was an unreal feeling," said Engholm.

Maguire added, "We had confidence in each player as they stepped up in the penalty kick shootout. I couldn't be anymore prouder of them."

Penalty kicks were the deciding factor in a GGC-Bellevue matchup for the second time in the last three seasons, with the Bruins coming out on top in 2022.