STATESBORO - Georgia Southern women's soccer was proficient on set pieces Thursday night in collecting a 3-0 win over visiting North Florida at Bo Pitts Field.
In a game originally scheduled to be played in Jacksonville, but moved to Statesboro due to inclement weather, the Eagles tallied a season-high in goals to improve to 2-3-1 on the season. North Florida falls to 3-2-2 on the year. Georgia Southern returns to action on Sunday, hosting Jacksonville State in a 1 p.m. non-conference contest.
The Eagles scored just before halftime to take a 1-0 lead into the break.
Maya Zovko's corner kick from the left side found the head of
Claire Casey, whose flicking header found the back of the net in the 42nd minute for the one-goal advantage. It was the first collegiate goal for the freshman from Michigan.
In the second half,
Smith Cathey made a brilliant run with the ball from midfield and drew a free kick just outside the box in the 51st minute.
Kendall Wilson stepped up to the ball and drilled the free kick inside the top right corner for her second goal of the year and the 2-0 lead.
The final goal of the match came from
Ellie McIntyre. A corner from the Eagles in the 71st minute was headed away by a North Florida defender, but only as far as McIntyre, who was just outside the box on the right side. Her shot bent into the far post side netting for her first goal of the season and the final 3-0 margin.
"We had the frustration of the Furman game, where we felt like we created a lot of opportunities, but just didn't have much to show for it," Georgia Southern head women's soccer coach
Chris Adams said. "Really nice to execute tonight, starting off with a set piece, then another set piece, which if you're going to spend the time practicing it, then it needs to pay dividends. It did a couple of times today. Then I was extremely happy to get that third goal as well and have a good margin for error with
Ellie McIntyre's strike late in the game."
Georgia Southern finished the match with a 15-4 edge in shots.
Katie Oakley made two saves in net for the Eagles, while UNF keepers Sofia Milancano and Sarah Barrentine each had a pair of saves for the Ospreys. The Eagles enjoyed a 5-4 edge in corner kicks and UNF was whistled for 12 fouls and one offsides, while Georgia Southern was whistled for eight fouls.
