Three First-Half Goals Give Eagles 3-2 Victory Over Charleston Southern
9/5/2010 9:36:00 PM | Women's Soccer
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Soccer team exploded for three goals in the first half and kept Charleston Southern out of the net late to take a 3-2 victory over the Buccaneers Sunday (September 5) at Eagle Field. With the win, Georgia Southern improved to 2-2-0, while Charleston Southern fell to 3-2-0.
"I think we really grew up today," Head Coach Ashley Hart stated. "We went behind early, and started out slow, but I was proud of our team to score three goals and hold on at the end when Charleston Southern was really playing well."
The Eagles scored three first-half goals to take a 3-1 lead into the locker room at halftime. Elena Karakizis (Lilburn, Ga.) evened the match with her first goal of the season. The freshman got the ball from Alex Murphy (Cincinnati, Ohio) and buried it in the top of the net in the 29th minute.
Kyrstin Smith (Acworth, Ga.) gave the Eagles the lead just over a minute later. The junior got the ball just outside the 18-yard box and sent it into the net over the outstretched arms of Charleston Southern goalkeeper Amy Arroyo in the 30th minute.
In the 40th minute, Sara Oland (Evans, Ga.) out-raced three Buccaneer defenders to catch up to a long ball from Morgan Springer (Mandeville, La.). The junior took just one touch to bury the ball in the right side of the net to give Georgia Southern a 3-1 lead.
"We had a lot of players step up today," Hart said. "Sara (Oland) has scored some goals for us and been consistent with that, but to have Elena (Karakizis) and Kyrstin (Smith) both step up and score some goals from distance, I think it really stretched our attack zone."
Marky Boyce put Charleston Southern on the board first with a goal in the fourth minute, her eighth goal of the season. The senior took possession in the attacking third to score the unassisted goal. Caitlin Wesnesky cut the Eagles' lead to 3-2 with a goal in the 70th minute, but Georgia Southern goalkeeper Missy Meyer (Alpharetta, Ga.) made three saves while keeping the Buccaneers scoreless over the final 18 and a half minutes.
Freshman Katie Merson (Albuquerque, N.M.) started the game in goal for the Eagles, making four saves in 71 minutes and 32 seconds. Arroyo made just two saves for Charleston Southern, while allowing three goals.
The Eagles travel to Birmingham, Ala., for the Samford Invitational on Sept. 10 and 12. Georgia Southern will face Tennessee Tech on Friday at 5:30 p.m. EDT and Kennesaw State on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
