The women’s soccer team saw its season end on the heels of a 2-0 loss to South Alabama in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament Wednesday afternoon.
Georgia State finished (6-10-1) with a (4-5) record in its first season with the Sun Belt Conference.
Head coach Derek Leader said, “We played a really good team today. We did not play well in the first half but played very well in the second half. We did not finish our opportunities…I think it was a game of two halves but they were able to find the back of the net.”
The No. 2 seeded Lady Jaguars (13-5-2) attacked early and often.
South Alabama’s Nini Rasbatt-Smith launched a shot in the second minute, but Georgia State goalkeeper Brie Haynes was there to make a block.
Earning a corner kick from the shot, the Lady Jaguars’ Morgan Motes fired a shot on goal, but Haynes was able to grab the save.
In the fourth minute, Rasbatt-Smith gave Haynes her second save of the game after another shot on goal.
The Lady Panthers’ first scoring opportunity came in the sixth minute when Alyssia Feronti made a shot on goal. However, South Alabama’s goalkeeper Melissa Drish was able to save the attempted goal.
Haynes picked up two more saves in the first half, saving shots launched by Monique Autmon in the 16th minute and Clarissa Hernandez in the 22nd minute.
South Alabama got on the scoreboard in the 32nd minute on a shot by Hernandez, her sixth of the season. Motes picked up an assist on the dish to Hernandez to make the score 1-0.
Georgia State began an all-or-nothing assault in the second half, forcing Drish to make two saves on four shots in the first 15 minutes.
But the Lady Jaguars had an attack of their own, scoring again to go ahead 2-0 in the 50th minute.
Nikki Shirtcliffe air-mailed a free kick into the box that Hernandez was able to fire past Haynes to grab her second score of the game.
Georgia State was relentless in its attack. Beginning in the 62nd minute, the Lady Panthers shot four consecutive corner kicks, two of which were shots on goal.
Lyndsey Gaffney and Maraget Bruemmer were responsible for those attempts, but Drish was able to make saves on both.
In the 74th minute, redshirt senior Jordan Young tested Drish again with a shot on goal, but Drish was up to the task.
Four minutes later, Stephanie Kolwicz fired a shot on goal, but Drish made another save the protect South Alabama’s lead.
Georgia State was unable to find the back of the net for the remainder of the game, sending the team packing after only one game in San Marcos.
Coach Leader said, “We have to remember how quickly the season begins and ends as we head into next year. We played some very good soccer during the second half of the season, but today we played a very good South Alabama team.”
Georgia State ended with four more shots (16-12) and far more corner kicks (11-3), but they were unable to grab any scores.
Haynes finished the season with a 5-10-1 record, earning five saves on 12 shots faced. Drish is now 10-5-2 on the season, with seven saves on 16 shots faced as she and the Lady Jaguars advance to the Sun Belt semi-finals.
