STATESBORO - Georgia Southern women's soccer remained unbeaten at home for 2021 with a 2-1 Sun Belt Conference victory over visiting Troy on Thursday evening at Eagle Field.
The Eagles improved to 7-4-2 overall and 2-1-1 in the Sun Belt with the victory, while Troy falls to 4-6-1 overall and 1-3 in the league with the loss. Georgia Southern returns to the road for its next action, traveling to ULM for a Noon contest against the Warhawks on Sunday, October 3.
A tight first half saw the Trojans hold an 7-5 edge in shots over the Eagles through the match's first 39 minutes. In the 40th minute, Smith Cathey's shot from the left side of the box was blocked out in front, and as Cathey went in for a follow up, she was taken down in the box by Jordan Stack of the Trojans and a penalty kick was given.
Redshirt freshman Elis Nemtsov stepped up to the spot and scored with a shot down the middle for her seventh goal of the season and the 1-0 Georgia Southern lead at the break.
In the second half. the Eagles doubled their lead by once again converting from the spot. A ball into the box was judged to have come off of the hand of Troy's Caylah Williams. Graduate student Marcela Montoya stepped up to take the kick and converted for her seventh goal of the season and the 2-0 lead.
Troy pressured the Eagles over the last 15 minutes trying to climb back into the match. A shot in the 76th minute by Taytum Terrell hit the right post and caromed back out to Georgia Southern goalkeeper Michaela English, which she was able to smother.
The Trojans got their breakthrough in the 88th minute as a corner kick from Riley Rojahn was headed towards the goal by Terrell. Erin Bloomfield was able to finish off of the headed ball to make the score 2-1.
Troy won a final corner with 15 seconds left in the match but the service did not make it to the goal.
"First and foremost, I want to give credit to Troy," Georgia Southern Head Women's Soccer Coach Chris Adams said. "They showed up and had a really good game plan, making life difficult for us in the first half. They won more 50/50 balls. But credit to our team, for rallying late in the half. We began to do the dirty work, winning first and second balls, turning it into a battle of field position. Once we did that and connected the dots, I felt we got a handle on the game.
"We started running at them, causing them a tremendous amount of pressure and stress, which ultimately led to a couple of PKs," Coach Adams said. "They just couldn't manage the amount of pressure we were putting them under. We did allow a late goal, which gave them a little bit of belief, and that's something we're still working on - having that killer instinct to score that third goal and put them away for good. But I'm proud to we stayed undefeated at home. We got three more points in the Sun Belt and now we will prepare for ULM."
The Trojans finished the match with a 15-12 edge in shots. Georgia Southern had six shots on goal, compared to four for Troy. English made three saves in net for the Eagles and Lindsey LaRoche made four saves in net for Troy. The Trojans had a 9-6 edge in corner kicks and Troy was whistled for 11 fouls and one offsides, while Georgia Southern was whistled for 10 fouls and seven offsides.
