STATESBORO - Georgia Southern women's soccer closed out the 2023 regular season by picking up a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over visiting Troy on Senior Night, notching its seventh straight win Wednesday at Eagle Field.
The Eagles (12-5, 7-3 SBC) have now won seven in a row for the first time since 2000, and will take that streak into next week's Sun Belt Conference Championships in Foley, Ala. Georgia Southern will play on Wednesday, November 1, in a quarterfinal contest to be determined tomorrow after the conclusion of the regular season. Troy ends its season at 6-10-2 overall, 1-7-2 in the Sun Belt with the loss.
The Trojans aimed to spoil the Eagles' Senior Night by taking an early 1-0 lead in the eighth minute. Alisa Detlefsen's corner kick from the right side found Jordan Stack on the far post, and Stack finished for Troy to give the visitors the lead. Despite the Eagles outshooting the Trojans by a 10-3 count in the first half, Troy took the one goal lead into the break.
The Eagles came out in the second half and controlled the first 15 minutes, getting a pair of goals in that time frame to take the 2-1 lead. First, junior Ansleigh Crenshaw headed in a free kick from sophomore Erin Wilkins in the 52nd minute for her first collegiate goal, tying the score at 1-all.
Sophomore Bri Conley then put the Eagles in front at the 58 minute mark. Freshman Meredith Pugh served a ball to the top of the box from the left side, and senior Simone Timm knocked the ball down to Conley, whose one-touch finish went inside the left post for her sixth goal of the season.
Troy equalized just shy of the 70 minute mark as Olivia Simpson carried the ball down the right side to the end line, then crossed into the box. The ball took a slight touch off of diving goalkeeper Quinn Wilson, and Carley White was able to finish point blank to make the score 2-2.
The Eagles then got the match winner from senior Simone Timm in the 78th minute. Wilkins delivered a ball into the box from right, and Timm split between a Troy defender and goalkeeper Rubie Kelley to finish for her eighth goal of the season. It was the sixth goal in the last seven matches for Timm.
Georgia Southern finished the night with a 22-10 edge in shots. Wilson made five saves in net for the Eagles, while Kelley collected seven saves for the Trojans. Georgia Southern held an 8-6 edge in corner kicks, while the Eagles were whistled for eight fouls and one offsides, with Troy committing two fouls and three offsides.
"It just speaks to the resilience of these kids," Georgia Southern head women's soccer coach Chris Adams said about the comeback win. "Our seniors are tough, it was Senior Night tonight and we weren't going to go out that way. It was not a great first half, it felt like things were stacked against us, but I'm just very proud of us putting things together in the second half and always having an answer, getting our nose out front and staying there. It was a great Senior Night, and now we will turn our full attention to the Sun Belt tournament next week."
Prior to the match, the Eagles recognized nine seniors - Katie Jebavy, Jhenesis Ellerbe, Kamryn Nobles, Elis Nemtsov, Isabel Kopp, Deborah Ruiz, Timm, Sade Heinrichs and Megan Przybysz.
