ORANGE BEACH, Ala. --- The
Georgia Bulldog soccer team used two first half goals to propel them to a 2-1 victory against
South Carolina in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament Wednesday night.
Georgia (10-9-1) will face the top seeded team in this year’s SEC Tournament, the Florida Gators, in the tournament semifinals at 7:30 p.m. CT Friday at the Orange Beach Sportsplex.
The win is the 50th in coach Patrick Baker’s Georgia career. He improves his Georgia coaching record to 50-28-5 in his nearly four full seasons at the helm of the Bulldogs, while his 20-year coaching record improves to 227-132-25.
“I am very happy that we found a way to win tonight,” said head coach Patrick Baker. “We started the game well and put together a good first half. Scoring twice in the first half was crucial to our success. The second half we absorbed a lot of pressure and eventually we broke just after the 80 minute mark. We got some decent clock management late and were able to protect the lead.”
Alex Hooker scored the first goal of the game in the 10th minute coming off a set piece 30 yards from net. Kelli Corless served a ball to the far side of net, bringing the South Carolina keeper out of the goal. A Bailey Powell header back toward the middle of the field brought the ball to the foot of Hooker, who placed a shot through traffic into a virtually empty net to give Georgia the quick 1-0 advantage. It was Hooker’s second goal of the season.
Georgia’s second goal of the game came courtesy of a player recently honored for her defensive success. Megan Tomlinson, who was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year Tuesday, netted the second score of the game for Georgia in the 25th minute off a perfectly placed header from another Corless serve. Corless dribbled down the left sideline, crossed a ball into the middle of the field where Tomlinson headed the ball off the right post and into the net for the 2-0 advantage. It was also Tomlinson’s second goal of the season.
The Bulldogs would maintain that lead throughout the first half, despite being outshot 4-3 during the first 45 minutes. Georgia keeper Michelle Betos needed to make two saves of the Gamecocks’ four shot attempts.
The second half saw South Carolina (11-6-4) earn many more scoring opportunities, while Georgia was held without a shot the entire half. However, the Georgia defense was able to prevent many significant scoring chances for South Carolina in its own 18-yard box and several other Gamecock attempts sailed wide of net.
South Carolina would finally capitalize in the 81st minute when Blakely Mattern was centered in by Kayla Grimsley. Mattern turned and fired a one-timer past Betos to pull South Carolina within one, but it could get no closer as the Bulldogs would prevent the game-tying score after several frantic sequences by the Gamecocks. In total, South Carolina dominated in total shots 18-3, yet the Bulldogs managed to score the victory.
“We know we didn’t play our best soccer tonight and will put forth a better effort on Friday,” Baker said. “The team prides themselves in possession and that wasn’t part of our game in the second half. Part of that is on us and part that you must credit South Carolina for they are an excellent side. We will watch some tape and correct our mistakes tomorrow morning.”
When the Bulldogs face Florida on Friday, they will face the same team they played to start the SEC season. That game began a new season for Georgia, even though the Bulldogs might have been on the wrong end of an overtime decision. Georgia dropped to 2-7 after that game, but would turn things around the rest of the way.
In their last 11 games, the Bulldogs have gone 8-2-1 and are certainly making a strong case for making the NCAA Tournament.
“I am extremely proud of how far this team has come since the last time we played South Carolina and Florida,” Baker said. “Some teams may have given up or not found success the rest of the year. Since that road trip, we have beaten some real quality teams. The players have kept a faith and focus with each game to put themselves in a wonderful position.”
