University of Georgia Athletics
Soccer Ties Georgia State In Spring Finale
April 17, 2010 | Soccer
The Bulldogs outshot the Panthers 21-9 on the night and took six corner kicks to GSU’s two, but the contest ended evenly. Rising sophomore Ashley Baker played another standout contest between the pipes for the Bulldogs, collecting five saves and notching the shutout.
Georgia held onto possession at the start, keeping the ball in the Georgia State end for the first 10 minutes of play. The Bulldogs didn’t allow a Panther shot until the clock read 30:00 in the opener.
The Bulldogs saw their first big chance moments later when midfielder Kelli Corless fired a rocket at the goal from 30 yards out, but the look bounced off the crossbar. Down the other end, the Panthers had a breakaway but Baker dove for the save from point-blank range as the teams continued to battle to find the scoreboard.
With 13 minutes to go in the first frame, Ashley Miller had a look as she was fed through traffic but the GSU goalie stifled the chance around the six.
The first half ended with the shots 11-4 in favor of the Dogs with both squads putting up solid defensive efforts.
To start the second, Miller played the ball in to Laura Eddy but the rising sophomore’s look went wide right with five minutes elapsed in the second. Approaching the 21:00 mark, Corless sent a corner in to Jamie Pollock, but her shot bounced over the crossbar as Georgia’s hard luck continued. Later in the second, Alex Hooker followed up a rebound but the keeper was able to flick it over the top leading to a Georgia corner.
With under six to play, Georgia State was awarded a corner and the ball was loose in front before the Georgia defense was able to play it out and avoid the go-ahead.
The Bulldogs had a corner of their own with 90 seconds to go, but could put nothing together and time wound down with the teams still locked at 0-0.
The Dogs will now get set for the fall season, looking to advance to a school-record fourth straight NCAA Tournament and build on the 15-6-1 record from 2009. Today was a big day for the soccer program as the Athletic Association announced the hire of former University of Mississippi coach Steve Holeman. Holeman will replace Patrick Baker, who resigned last month due to family, health, and personal reasons.
