Eagles Fall To Monarchs In Sun Belt Semifinals Friday

Friday, November 3

Foley, Ala.

5 PM

Georgia Southern University

12-6-1, 7-3-0

Old Dominion

12-2-5, 5-2-3

Ga. Southern

Old Dominion

Photo by: MCDUFFIE IMAGES LLC 2023

11/3/2023 7:56:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Old Dominion tallies two first-half goals in a 51-second stretch to collect the victory

FOLEY, Ala. - Second-seeded Old Dominion tallied a pair of first-half goals in a 51-second stretch, then held on for a 2-1 Sun Belt Conference women's soccer semifinal victory over third-seeded Georgia Southern on Friday afternoon at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex in Foley, Ala.

The Monarchs (12-2-5) advance to the final for a second straight year, while the Eagles (12-6-1) fall short in their bid to make a second final in the last three seasons.

Old Dominion struck first in the 13th minute as a shot from Thalia Morisi was initially saved by Georgia Southern goalkeeper Quinn Wilson, but Rhea Kijowski was there to put in the rebound for the 1-0 lead.

Just 51 seconds later, Morisi then tallied a goal in the 14th minute to double the lead.

The Eagles responded in the 25th minute to draw back to within a goal. A service from senior Isabel Kopp fell to junior Ansliegh Crenshaw in the box, and Crenshaw deftly finished for her second goal of the season. It was the first time that Old Dominion had conceded a first-half goal all season long.

The Monarchs held a commanding 17-2 edge in shots at the break.

In the second half, however, the Eagles enjoyed an 8-5 advantage in shots over Old Dominion. Senior defender Kamryn Nobles kept it a one-goal match by clearing a shot off the line in the 50th minute, and a free kick from sophomore Carley Borgelt in the 57th minute just skimmed over the crossbar.

Georgia Southern had a pair of last-ditch attempts in the final two minutes, but sophomore Erin Wilkins' shot from distance was saved with a minute and 37 seconds left, while senior Sade Heinrichs' long-range shot with 13 seconds went wide left.

"Very proud of our season," Georgia Southern head women's soccer coach Chris Adams said. "This is a tough way to go out. We got off to a little bit of a slow start and it felt like the world was against us. But all credit to our kids, we fall behind 2-0 and we didn't give up the fight. We get a goal to get back in it and we fight to the final whistle. I'm obviously disappointed with the season ending in this fashion, however I couldn't be more proud of this group of seniors and what they've done in their time here - the legacy of great grades, extremely high character, they leave the locker room in a really good place and from an RPI standpoint to go from 317 to the 40s is remarkable."

In addition to a program-best 47 RPI, the Eagles ranked among the Top 10 in single-season GS history for wins (12), goals (35), winning percentage (.625) and put together an eight-game unbeaten streak, including a seven-match win streak, both second-best streaks. Georgia Southern also tied a school record with seven straight matches scoring multiple goals.

The Eagles graduate eight seniors from the 2023 squad - Jhenesis Ellerbe, Nobles, Elis Nemtsov, Isabel Kopp, Deborah Ruiz, Simone Timm, Heinrichs and Megan Przybysz - and return 22 players for the upcoming 2024 campaign.