MONROE, LA. – Georgia Southern picked up a 3-1 win over UL Monroe on Friday afternoon to go top of the league in the Eagles' debut in the Sun Belt Conference. The Eagles (6-2-1, 1-0-0 SBC) never trailed in the victory and earned the program's first-ever win over the Warhawks (6-4-1, 0-1-0 SBC) in the first meeting of the series. Georgia Southern visits UL Lafayette on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. (ET).
"It was great to get our fist Sun Belt win today," said Head Coach
Brian Dunleavy. "ULM is an organized team, they made life really difficult for us, and it was a hard earned road win. They pushed numbers forward when we were up, and created some dangerous opportunities that we handled well. Good result, now we have to focus on Sunday's game at ULL.
Jennifer Wittick staked the Eagles to a 1-0 lead on 20 minutes as she got on the end of a
Nora El-Shami free kick in the six yard box. The goal was Wittick's fourth of the season while El-Shami picked up her second assist of the day.
ULM drew level in the 34th minute as Antonia Land converted a penalty kick. The Eagles were called for a handball in the penalty box for the second time in the last three matches to send the Warhawks to the penalty spot.
The Eagles held a 6-4 advantage in shots as the teams went to the locker room tied 1-1 on the scoreboard.
"We came out a little nervous and hesitant and had a hard time making some tactical adjustments," said Dunleavy. "We talked at half, settled down and played much better in the second half."
After the intermission, Georgia Southern's
Melinda Lukas got her fourth goal of the season at the hour mark off El-Shami's second assist of the day. The cross came from the right side as Lukas was able to finish in the left corner of the goal to put the Eagles up 2-1.
Junior
Stephanie Gratto put the game on ice in the 77th minute when she buried a
Sydnie Van Curen assist. Gratto picked up her second goal of the season with a shot to the right side of goal from the middle of the box.
Katie Merson made four saves between the pipes and earns her sixth victory of the season.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics. To purchase tickets call 1-800-GSU-WINS
