University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldogs, Fans Delivered In Sanford Showcase
August 20, 2026 | Soccer, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Georgia asked, and Bulldog fans answered.
Thursday night, in the No. 25-ranked Georgia soccer team's home opener at Sanford Stadium — the first soccer game played in the legendary football stadium since the 1996 Olympics — a collegiate-record crowd of 25,433 was on hand to see the Bulldogs blast James Madison, 6-0.
"First and foremost," Georgia head coach Keidane McAlpine said, "I think it is important to thank everybody involved in this game, from our president (UGA President Jere W. Morehead) all the way down to the field crew and everybody who was involved in making this happen. This doesn't happen simply because we have the idea; it happens because everybody involved jumps up on two feet and makes it go."
The "Soccer in Sanford" event was not only an emphatic kickoff to the Bulldogs' home schedule, it was also a 30th anniversary celebration of the U.S. women's team's 2-1 victory over China to win the gold medal at the Atlanta Games. Georgia asked Bulldog fans to show up and crush the previous collegiate women's and men's records, and they did just that.
The previous women's attendance record of 14,410 was set during the 1999 NCAA tournament finale in San Jose, Calif., between Notre Dame and North Carolina. The men's mark of 22,512 was set in 1980 at a Saint Louis-Southern Illinois Edwardsville match at Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. When the PA announcer delivered the record-setting attendance number early in the second half Thursday, the crowd, most of whom were still there despite the 3-0 halftime score and the very warm temperatures, let out a big roar.
For McAlpine, who conceived of this game alongside Josh Brooks, Georgia's J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics, what happened on Dooley Field on Thursday was about more than a victory for his team or the record crowd that watched it happen.
"This was a major win for the University of Georgia. It was a major win for our program. It was a major win for collegiate soccer, and we had an opportunity to celebrate one of the best moments in women's soccer ever," McAlpine said, referring to the U.S. women winning gold inside the same stadium 30 years ago, "that I think is the catalyst for us being here right now. So I have to show gratitude to all of those people, including the women that kind of set this thing rolling."
Last season, Georgia's average home attendance at the Turner Soccer Complex was 1,326. Over 12 home games, Georgia had a total attendance of 15,916. Nearly 10,000 more than that number saw the Bulldogs and Dukes battle between the hedges on Thursday, with Georgia dominating the whole way. The Bulldogs had a 24-6 advantage in shots, and a 9-2 advantage in shots on goal.
"I think we went out there and showed everybody exactly what Georgia soccer was, and just to be able to look up in the stands and see so many people riding for us and supporting us, and just doing it on such a large scale, was really something special," said forward Mya Townes, a Virginia native whose father, D'Artagnan, played football at James Madison, and her mother, Leisha, played volleyball there.
Townes, a member of the SEC All-Freshman Team last season, got Georgia on the scoreboard a little more than seven minutes into the game. She'd been tackled in the James Madison penalty box, earning the Bulldogs a penalty kick. Sage Glover took the kick, and the ball caromed off the left post right to Townes, who fired it into the goal for a 1-0 lead.
About 15 minutes later, Georgia's Honoka Hamano scored the first of her two goals, off an assist from Emma Pettersen. Twelve minutes later, Townes fired a shot that was blocked and went near the feet of Ava Stack, who drilled it into the bottom left part of the goal for a 3-0 lead.
The lead was still 3-0 with 18 minutes remaining when Grayson Rogers sent a perfect cross into the JMU box, and Hamano headed it home. In the final eight minutes, Georgia also got goals from Mona Childs and Leila Avila — the first goals of their collegiate careers — to make it 6-0.
In goal, Jordan Brown, Hannah Folliard and Victoria Saah weren't challenged often, but they made every stop they had to. Brown, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, made a diving save on a long JMU shot late in the first half. She had both of Georgia's saves in the game.
Brown, a fifth-year player, has seen and done a lot in her career, including getting a shutout in goal when Georgia won the program's first SEC tournament title in 2023. She said Thursday's game was her best moment as a Bulldog.
"Definitely number one," she said. "I think it's so special for us to be able to play in front of our fans and even break a record. We've worked so hard in rebuilding the program and also just being ready for the season and this moment. I think we did really well being able to handle all the emotions, but also going out and getting the win, so it was really awesome."
The Bulldogs will return to their home at the Turner Soccer Complex on Sunday for a match against Milwaukee at noon. McAlpine and Georgia are hoping that a lot of the fans that showed up Thursday, many of whom might have just seen their first Georgia soccer game, will want to see more of the Bulldogs this season.
As for whether or not the game in Sanford Stadium was a one-off or the start of an annual tradition, McAlpine said he thought this wouldn't be a one-time game between the hedges.
"I don't know if it will be every year; there's a lot that goes into it," he said. "I do think the way it turned out does lend itself to more conversations around it. I've already heard, as the numbers started to roll in, people began to kind of dream a little bit more about, Hey, we could do this a little bit better. So I anticipate it will happen again. When? I don't know. I wanted to make sure tonight just went off well, and then we can start fast-forwarding into the next one. But this one was a big success."
McAlpine and his team made that happen. Everyone at UGA made that happen. And Georgia's fans made that happen, too.
Staff Writer
Georgia asked, and Bulldog fans answered.
Thursday night, in the No. 25-ranked Georgia soccer team's home opener at Sanford Stadium — the first soccer game played in the legendary football stadium since the 1996 Olympics — a collegiate-record crowd of 25,433 was on hand to see the Bulldogs blast James Madison, 6-0.
"First and foremost," Georgia head coach Keidane McAlpine said, "I think it is important to thank everybody involved in this game, from our president (UGA President Jere W. Morehead) all the way down to the field crew and everybody who was involved in making this happen. This doesn't happen simply because we have the idea; it happens because everybody involved jumps up on two feet and makes it go."
The "Soccer in Sanford" event was not only an emphatic kickoff to the Bulldogs' home schedule, it was also a 30th anniversary celebration of the U.S. women's team's 2-1 victory over China to win the gold medal at the Atlanta Games. Georgia asked Bulldog fans to show up and crush the previous collegiate women's and men's records, and they did just that.
The previous women's attendance record of 14,410 was set during the 1999 NCAA tournament finale in San Jose, Calif., between Notre Dame and North Carolina. The men's mark of 22,512 was set in 1980 at a Saint Louis-Southern Illinois Edwardsville match at Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. When the PA announcer delivered the record-setting attendance number early in the second half Thursday, the crowd, most of whom were still there despite the 3-0 halftime score and the very warm temperatures, let out a big roar.
For McAlpine, who conceived of this game alongside Josh Brooks, Georgia's J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics, what happened on Dooley Field on Thursday was about more than a victory for his team or the record crowd that watched it happen.
"This was a major win for the University of Georgia. It was a major win for our program. It was a major win for collegiate soccer, and we had an opportunity to celebrate one of the best moments in women's soccer ever," McAlpine said, referring to the U.S. women winning gold inside the same stadium 30 years ago, "that I think is the catalyst for us being here right now. So I have to show gratitude to all of those people, including the women that kind of set this thing rolling."
Last season, Georgia's average home attendance at the Turner Soccer Complex was 1,326. Over 12 home games, Georgia had a total attendance of 15,916. Nearly 10,000 more than that number saw the Bulldogs and Dukes battle between the hedges on Thursday, with Georgia dominating the whole way. The Bulldogs had a 24-6 advantage in shots, and a 9-2 advantage in shots on goal.
"I think we went out there and showed everybody exactly what Georgia soccer was, and just to be able to look up in the stands and see so many people riding for us and supporting us, and just doing it on such a large scale, was really something special," said forward Mya Townes, a Virginia native whose father, D'Artagnan, played football at James Madison, and her mother, Leisha, played volleyball there.
Townes, a member of the SEC All-Freshman Team last season, got Georgia on the scoreboard a little more than seven minutes into the game. She'd been tackled in the James Madison penalty box, earning the Bulldogs a penalty kick. Sage Glover took the kick, and the ball caromed off the left post right to Townes, who fired it into the goal for a 1-0 lead.
About 15 minutes later, Georgia's Honoka Hamano scored the first of her two goals, off an assist from Emma Pettersen. Twelve minutes later, Townes fired a shot that was blocked and went near the feet of Ava Stack, who drilled it into the bottom left part of the goal for a 3-0 lead.
The lead was still 3-0 with 18 minutes remaining when Grayson Rogers sent a perfect cross into the JMU box, and Hamano headed it home. In the final eight minutes, Georgia also got goals from Mona Childs and Leila Avila — the first goals of their collegiate careers — to make it 6-0.
In goal, Jordan Brown, Hannah Folliard and Victoria Saah weren't challenged often, but they made every stop they had to. Brown, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, made a diving save on a long JMU shot late in the first half. She had both of Georgia's saves in the game.
Brown, a fifth-year player, has seen and done a lot in her career, including getting a shutout in goal when Georgia won the program's first SEC tournament title in 2023. She said Thursday's game was her best moment as a Bulldog.
"Definitely number one," she said. "I think it's so special for us to be able to play in front of our fans and even break a record. We've worked so hard in rebuilding the program and also just being ready for the season and this moment. I think we did really well being able to handle all the emotions, but also going out and getting the win, so it was really awesome."
The Bulldogs will return to their home at the Turner Soccer Complex on Sunday for a match against Milwaukee at noon. McAlpine and Georgia are hoping that a lot of the fans that showed up Thursday, many of whom might have just seen their first Georgia soccer game, will want to see more of the Bulldogs this season.
As for whether or not the game in Sanford Stadium was a one-off or the start of an annual tradition, McAlpine said he thought this wouldn't be a one-time game between the hedges.
"I don't know if it will be every year; there's a lot that goes into it," he said. "I do think the way it turned out does lend itself to more conversations around it. I've already heard, as the numbers started to roll in, people began to kind of dream a little bit more about, Hey, we could do this a little bit better. So I anticipate it will happen again. When? I don't know. I wanted to make sure tonight just went off well, and then we can start fast-forwarding into the next one. But this one was a big success."
McAlpine and his team made that happen. Everyone at UGA made that happen. And Georgia's fans made that happen, too.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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