Georgia Faces No. 10 Arkansas for SEC Championship Sunday

(2) Georgia (10-4-5, 4-3-3 SEC) vs. (1) Arkansas (14-3-2, 4-3-3 SEC)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 5
Time: 2 p.m. EDT
Location: Pensacola, Fla.
Site: Ashton Brosnaham Park (2,500)

MEDIA INFORMATION
TV / Stream: SEC Network (Mike Watts, PxP / Jill Loyden, Analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
X: @UGASoccer
Instagram: @UGASoccer

Social Media: For complete information on Georgia soccer, follow the team on its social media channels via @UGASoccer on X, Facebook, and Instagram.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Overall: Georgia leads 12-6-5
In Athens: Georgia leads 5-3-2
In Fayetteville: Georgia leads 7-2-2
Neutral: Arkansas leads 1-0-1
Last Meeting: Arkansas – W, 2-1 (Oct. 5, 2023 – Fayetteville, Ark.)
Current Streak: L2
GF / GA: 47 / 28

QUICK KICKS
Sunday Best
SEC East champion Georgia goes for its first-ever SEC Tournament championship Sunday against SEC West champion Arkansas, who is also looking for its first title. This is Georgia's fourth appearance in the championship match and first since 2008. Georgia and Arkansas met previously this season, with the Razorbacks prevailing, 2-1, on Oct. 5 in Fayetteville. After allowing quick goals in the second half, an own goal cut the deficit in half, set up by a booming goal kick from goalkeeper Jordan Brown. Georgia leads the all-time series, 12-6-5, but has only won once in the past seven meetings. The two teams have met twice before at the SEC Tournament, with Arkansas winning in the 1996 semifinals and Georgia advancing on penalties in the 2014 first round.

Thursday Thriller
Georgia advanced to the SEC Championship with a win over Texas A&M in an all-time classic, overcoming a halftime deficit for the second-consecutive match. After controlling the run of play for most of the first half, the Bulldogs surrendered a goal late in the first half. In the second half, Nicole Vernis converted her third penalty kick of the season to equalize. Forward Hannah White put the Bulldogs ahead in the first overtime, but a wild sequence in the second period led to an Aggie equalizer. In the dying moments of regulation, a free kick from Vernis was deflected by Tori Penn to Croix Bethune for the latest winner in program history with 27 seconds remaining. Brown tallied a career-high 11 saves against 27 A&M shots, the sixth-most by an opponent in program history. On the other side, Georgia racked up a season-high 11 shots on goal.

Comeback Against Cats
Georgia advanced to the semifinals with a 2-1 comeback victory over Kentucky in Tuesday's semifinal, overcoming SEC Co-Freshman Summer Denigan's red card in the third minute of play and a subsequent penalty make. In the 63rd minute, midfielder Croix Bethune scored her second goal of the season off a beautiful cross from teammate Mallie McKenzie. Later, in the 81st minute, McKenzie puts the Bulldogs ahead with a goal off an assist from Nicole Vernis.

McKenzie's Milestone
Graduate midfielder Mallie McKenzie helped propel Georgia into the SEC semifinal with a three-point effort against Kentucky. McKenzie's assist to Croix Bethune on her equalizer was the 22nd of her career, moving her into fourth all-time in program history and just two behind program leader Suzannah Weathersbee at 22. McKenzie then made history with her 94th career appearance in a Bulldog uniform against Texas A&M, surpassing former teammate Abby Boyan for the program record.

Accolades Aplenty
In the SEC postseason honors released Sunday, Georgia received numerous league honors, including three for Denigan. The Union, Kentucky native shared the Co-Freshman of the Year Award with Florida's Megan Hinnenkamp, along with placements on the Second Team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman Team. The honor made Denigan the first Freshman of the Year since Laura Eddy in 2009. Graduate midfielder Croix Bethune was also named to the Second Team All-SEC, giving the program five consecutive seasons with an all-conference performer, the longest streak since 2005-11. Freshman defender Kiera Staude joined Denigan on the All-Freshman Team after playing 1,296 minutes this season on the Bulldog backline.

Freshman Phenoms
Three members of the Georgia freshmen class were recognized by Top Drawer Soccer on its 2023 midseason top-100 list. Defender Kiera Staude was ranked No. 10 overall, the highest of any SEC first-year player. Staude has started all 13 matches on the backline, helping the Bulldogs post five shutouts. Midfielder Christian Brathwaite slotted at No. 70, while fellow midfielder Devon Winters snuck in at No. 94.

Beasts of the East
With its win over Kentucky, Georgia clinched its first SEC East championship in program history, earning a top-two bye in the SEC Tournament and guaranteeing an opponent on short rest in Pensacola. In addition to their SEC exploits, the Bulldogs were ranked No. 16 in the NCAA Tournament committee's Top 16 reveal on Oct. 19.

Dawg Bites

Senior forward Tori Penn posted her second career assist on Croix Bethune's winning goal against Texas A&M. Interestingly, both of Penn's assists have come on winning goals in 3-2 results against the Aggies.
Nicole Vernis has converted three penalty kicks this season, the most for a Bulldog since Alexa Newfield went 5-for-5 in the 2011 season.
Georgia's win over Kentucky was its first with 10 players since a 1-0 win over South Carolina on Sept. 28, 2014. In that match, Marion Crowder was booked in the 66th minute with the Bulldogs leading at the time.
Georgia remained unranked in last week's United Soccer Coaches and Top Drawer Soccer polls, but received five votes to be 27th overall in the rankings. In the NCAA RPI rankings, Georgia moved down to 20th and ranks third among SEC schools. 10 2023 opponents currently rank in the top 50.
Junior defender Jessie Dunn remains the iron woman among Georgia field players, tallying 90 minutes in 16 matches this season. Dunn has played a full 90 in 24 of her last 28 matches, including 110 against Texas A&M, and now leads the team in consecutive starts at 26 following Ellie Gilbert's season-ending knee injury against Tennessee.
With the Texas A&M win, Georgia improved to 8-1 this season when scoring twice and to 8-2 in one-score matches. The victory over the Aggies was its first this season when giving up multiple goals.
Georgia holds a 6-1 record this season when leading at the half. In all five of the Bulldogs' ties, the score was knotted at the half (1-1-5).
Through 19 matches, 11 different Bulldogs have scored a goal. Last year, the team tied a program record with 16 different scorers.
Goalkeeper Jordan Brown has now entered the program's top 10 in saves, shutouts, starts, and minutes, and currently has the third-lowest GAA in program history (0.94).

Georgia Faces No. 10 Arkansas for SEC Championship Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Croix Bethune

Abby Boyan

Christian Brathwaite

Jordan Brown

Summer Denigan

Jessie Dunn

Ellie Gilbert

Mallie McKenzie

Tori Penn

Kiera Staude

Nicole Vernis

Hannah White

Devon Winters