Marshall Takes Early Lead, Holds on for 2-0 Win over Eagles
9/21/2007 4:19:00 AM | Women's Soccer
STATESBORO, Ga. ? Georgia Southern women's soccer held the advantage in shots and corner kicks, but former-Southern Conference foe Marshall outscored the Eagles, 2-0, Friday afternoon at Eagle Field to garner the non-conference victory.
The Thundering Herd improve to 3-4-0 with the win, while the Eagles fall to 1-5-0 overall.
“I was well pleased with our effort,” said head coach Ashley Hart. “I thought we attacked well and played extremely hard,” said Hart. “But we still need to work on our composure for a full 90 minutes.”
Marshall was able to capitalize early in the match. The team notched its first goal in the 15th minute when Missy Gordon collected a diagonal pass from Julia Axelsson, and found herself in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. She shot the ball from the right side and placed it in the left corner.
In the 24th minute, a Georgia Southern foul just outside the box gave the Herd a free kick. From 20 yards out, Marisa Leconte took the shot and found the back of the net, giving the Herd a 2-0 lead.
The Eagles held a 4-3 advantage in the shots category going into the break.
In the second half, the momentum switched back and forth between both teams.
Georgia Southern's bench helped provide an extra offensive lift. Junior midfielder Audrey Brown (Fort Worth, Texas) came off the bench and tallied a pair of shots on goal. Mallory Springfield (Marietta, Ga.) and Jenny Anderson (Birmingham, Ala.) both fired a shot off in the second half, but Marshall's Liz Ortiz was there to make the save.
“I think Jenny (Anderson) and Audrey (Brown) provided a threat off the bench,” said Hart. “We're deep and we're able to bring people in and work offensively. We need to just continue to produce opportunities and then finish the opportunities that we create.”
Brown led the Eagles with three shots on the day ? all three on goal, while teammate Ashley Toussaint (Warner Robins, Ga.) notched a pair of her own.
The Eagles held the advantage over the Herd in both shots (9-7) and corner kicks (5-0), but Ortiz was successful in thwarting the Eagle attack, making seven saves on the day.
“Soccer's a funny game,” added Hart. “When you play a good team, they'll capitalize on they're opportunities. Sometimes you can outshoot and outplay an opponent, but still come up short.”
Georgia Southern will next leave Statesboro and travel to High Point, N.C. to take on the Panthers at Vert Soccer Stadium. The non-conference game is slated for Sunday, Sep. 23 at 2 p.m.
