SAN MARCOS, Texas – In the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Championship, the Georgia State women's soccer team was defeated by No. 2 seed South Alabama, 2-0, to end the Panthers season. GSU finished the season 6-10-1.
“We played a really good team today,” head coach Derek Leader said after the match. “We did not play well in the first half but played very well in the second half. We did not finish our opportunities. We had two good chances that we did not capitalize on. I think it was a game of two halves but they were able to find the back of the net.”
The Jaguars went on the attack first, earning a corner kick in the second minute after Nini Rabsatt-Smith's shot was blocked. Following the corner kick, South Alabama's Morgan Motes fired a shot on goal but GSU goalie Brie Haynes was there to make the save.
In the fourth minute, Haynes made her second save on another attempt by Rasbatt-Smith. Georgia State created its first scoring chance in the sixth minute. Alyssia Feronti fired a shot on goal but Jaguar goalkeeper Melissa Drish was able to make the save.
Ten minutes later, Haynes recorded her third save on an attempt by Jaguar defender Monique Autmon. In the 22nd minute, South Alabama's Clarissa Hernandez forced Haynes to make another save to keep the match scoreless.
The Jaguars grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 32ndminute when Hernandez found the back of the net for the sixth time this season. Morgan Motes found Hernandez, who was able to slot the ball past Haynes.
At the half, South Alabama led 1-0 and held the edge in shots (8-2). Georgia State took more corner kicks (3-1).
The Panthers went on the attack first in the second half, forcing Drish to make a save on Whitney Ravan's shot. Hernandez responded for the Jaguars, scoring her second goal of the match to give South Alabama a 2-0 lead in the 50th minute. Nikki Shirtcliffe sent a free kick into the box and Hernandez was able to fire it past Haynes into the left corner.
GSU continued to attack, attempting three shots and forcing Drish to make one save over the next 10 minutes. Starting in the 62nd minute, the Panthers attempted four straight corner kicks and Lyndsey Gaffney and Maraget Bruemmer both fired shots on goal. However, Drish was there to make both saves to protect the Jaguars' 2-0 lead.
Georgia State dominated possession throughout the second half and continued to test Drish. In the 74th minute, Jordan Young sent a shot on target but Drish made the save. Four minutes later, Stephanie Kolwicz fired a shot on goal, only to be denied by Drish.
In the 84th minute, South Alabama nearly extended its lead to three, but Haynes made a great save to push Lauren Allison's shot over the crossbar.
For the match, Georgia State took more shots (16-12) and corner kicks (11-3) but it was not enough as the Jaguars advanced to the semifinals following the 2-0 win.
GSU's Haynes finishes the season 5-10-1 after the loss. She recorded five saves on 12 shots faced. South Alabama's Drish gets the win to improve to 10-5-2. She made seven saves on 16 total shots.
“I was very happy with how well we played towards the end of the season,” Leader said. “We have to remember how quickly the season begins and ends as we head into next year. We played some very good soccer during the second half of the season, but today we played a very good South Alabama team.”
