STATESBORO - Georgia Southern tallied a pair of second-half goals in 30 seconds to snap a 1-1 tie and pick up its first Sun Belt Conference win of the season, downing Louisiana 3-1 on Thursday evening at Eagle Field.
The Eagles improve to 6-5 overall and 1-3 in the Sun Belt with the victory, while the Ragin' Cajuns fall to 4-6-2 overall and 1-4 in the league. Georgia Southern returns to action on Sunday, traveling to Conway, S.C., to take on Coastal Carolina in a 1 p.m. Sun Belt contest.
Georgia Southern had the run of action in the first half, outshooting the Ragin' Cajuns by a 9-1 margin, but Louisiana goalkeeper Makenna Garcia made four first-half saves to keep the match scoreless heading into the break.
In the second half, the Eagles struck first in the 60th minute as sophomore Bri Conley headed a ball down at the top of the box to senior Simone Timm, who then made a defender miss with the ball and beat Garcia left for her third goal of the season and the 1-0 advantage.
Louisiana would respond in the 69th minute as Briana Henry took advantage of a couple of shot deflections, gathered the ball on the right edge of the box and lofted a shot inside the far post for her second goal of the match, knotting the score a one all.
The Eagles would put the match away with quick flurry of goals in the 78th minute. Sophomore Erin Wilkins fed a diagonal ball to fifth-year senior Isabel Kopp on the left edge of the box, and Kopp struck for her second goal of the season at the 77:30 mark.
Right at the 78 minute mark, senior Maya Zovko's lofted ball bounced to Conley in the right side of the box, and Conley's shot rolled in just inside the far post for the insurance goal and the 3-1 lead.
Sophomore Michaela Mikko, making her first start in net for the Eagles, would record a pair of saves in the final 10 minutes to pick up her first win of the season. She would finish the night with four saves.
Georgia Southern ended the night with a 23-9 edge in shots. The Eagles would enjoy a 7-2 edge in corner kicks and each team was whistled for five fouls on the evening. Georgia Southern was offsides four times as well.
"I'm very pleased with our execution in the second half," Georgia Southern head women's soccer coach Chris Adams said. "In the first half, it felt like the last few games where we outshot them by a 9-1 margin, but had nothing to show for it at halftime. We tuck one in the second half - credit to Louisiana for coming back and tying us, but we had an answer. I was proud of our persistence and execution to get the two quick goals and have a margin for error. Getting three goals at home, and three points in conference was critical. Now we'll shift our focus to Coastal Carolina."
