Eagles Best Gardner-Webb 3-0
8/24/2012 10:42:52 PM | Women's Soccer
// BOX SCORE // UPDATED STATS //
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern Women’s Soccer left little doubt on Friday afternoon against Gardner-Webb, taking a 3-0 victory over the Runnin’ Bulldogs in the 2012 home opener. Nora El-Shami and Sydnie Van Curen both scored their first collegiate goals while Courtney Collins recorded her 10th career goal as the Eagles improve to 2-0-0 on the year.
“We had a good week of practice and it paid off for us today,” said head coach Lindsey Vanderspiegel. “Overall, I’m pleased with the game today. We were able to get on the board early which is something that we stress to the team. It was also good to get a little bit of experience for the freshman today because later on in the season, a lot of things will depend on their level of experience.”
For the second-straight match, the Eagles got an early goal. This time it was Nora El-Shami that scored the early breakthrough. An incisive pass by Abbey Ritter gave El-Shami a good look at goal, and the freshman buried the attempt for a 1-0 advantage for Southern.
In the waning minutes of the first half, GSU held possession in the Gardner-Webb half of the field. That pressure paid off in the 40th minute as the Eagles earned a penalty kick for a foul in the box. Courtney Collins struck the spot kick into the net for her first goal of the season and the 10th goal in her career.
The result was never in doubt from then on with Gardner-Webb (0-2-1) registering just five total shots with two on frame and only one attempt in the second half.
Southern consolidated the lead in the 68th minute as Sydnie Van Curen slotted in an empty net shot for her first collegiate goal. Collins played a through ball that beat the offsides trap, allowing Van Curen to score the goal with a simple shot into the back of the net.
GSU netminder Katie Merson earned her second win of the season between the pipes with her second-straight clean sheet. She needed to make just two saves as she kept the Runnin’ Bulldogs scoreless on the night.
The Eagles are back at home on Sunday afternoon against another Big South Conference foe as High Point comes to Statesboro. The afternoon matinee starts at 2 p.m. from Eagle Field. Live video streaming of the match can be seen for free on the homepage of GSEagles.com.
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