Women's Soccer | 8/16/2015 1:15:00 PM

PHOTO GALLERY (SUNDAY)

STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern Women's Soccer took a pair of preseason wins this weekend with a 5-1 drubbing of The Citadel on Friday in Charleston and a 2-0 blanking of North Georgia on Sunday morning at Eagle Field. Next up is the 2015 season which starts this Friday with Jacksonville University at home before a trip to Rocky Top to face Tennessee next Sunday.

"It's nice to come out of the second exhibition of the season with a shutout, I thought the back four did really well for 90 minutes," said Head Coach Brian Dunleavy. "We were able to get all three of our goalkeepers in there and they did a good job. Our biggest issue was getting started, I felt like the first half was a little shaky, we had a tough time linking passes. At halftime we talked about it and settled down to establish a better rhythm going forward. I'm pleased with the way we looked in transition defensively, we looked organized and when we passed the ball well, our team looked very tough to keep off the scoreboard."

 Neither team could find the breakthrough in the first half as just two shots on goal were recorded, both in favor of the Eagles. In the second half, Georgia Southern got off the mark when Nora El-Shami found Melinda Lukas free inside the box. Lukas finished calmly to make it 1-0 in the 53rd minute.

After a number of substitutes entered the game for both sides, Jessica Scales doubled the Eagle advantage in the 72nd minute. She gathered cross from freshman Junique Rodriguez and scored high to stake the Eagles to a 2-0 lead.

The Georgia Southern defense controlled the game and held North Georgia to fewer than five shots despite numerous attacking runs. The defenders were in the right places to break up the attack and move the ball back to midfield.

Sunday's game came in stark contrast to Friday's preseason opener at former SoCon foe The Citadel where the Eagles blasted the Bulldogs 5-1 on the banks of the Ashley River.

"We were good in the first half, but we weren't effective," said Dunleavy. "We passed the ball around well in the first half, but after halftime we were able to stretch them out and scored five great goals. It was a very good defensive effort in that game, but we were able to do a great job and stretch them out in the second half."

Rodriguez got the Eagles started in the scoring column with just more than five minutes remaining in the first half. After the break, however, The Citadel was able to level the game at 1-1 off an unassisted goal from Tori Zeltner.

Goals in the 56th (Lukas), 64th (Taylor Burns), 69th (Jennifer Wittick) and 89th (Scales) minutes were the difference for the Georgia Southern side which took a preseason friendly over the Bulldogs for the second-straight season.

The 2015 campaign starts for real on Friday night as Jacksonville University comes to Eagle Field. Kickoff from the friendly confines is set for 7 p.m. with live video available on GS All-Access. The weekend continues on Sunday as the Eagles visit Tennessee for a 1 p.m. tilt.
 
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