University of Georgia
UNC Greensboro
Georgia Soccer Tops UNCG, 4-1
September 16, 2011 | Soccer
Sept. 16, 2011
GREENSBORO, N.C. --- The Georgia soccer team won its fifth straight game Friday night and scored four goals in back-to-back games for the first time since 2001, earning a 4-1 road win against UNC Greensboro at the UNCG Stadium.
The Bulldogs stretched out the winning streak to close the non-conference portion of the 2011 season, improving to 6-2 heading into SEC play next weekend. Georgia drops the Spartans to 1-6 on the season. The game featured an emotional reunion as former Georgia assistant coach Steve Nugent is in his first season at the helm of the Spartan program.
"We're clicking at exactly the right time," said head coach Steve Holeman. "This says a lot about our effort. We put forth incredible effort the last two games. Tonight our depth made a difference in the result. It's great to have so many players you can rely on to score."
"We're a lot better than we were three weeks ago, and even two weeks ago," Holeman said. "Last weekend was a turning point for us. We're coming together at the right time. We're ready for conference play."
The Bulldogs scored first for the seventh time in eight games, getting on the board just 7:36 into the contest on a score for senior Ashley Miller, her third of the year. The play unfolded as freshman Jenna Owens worked herself free in front, turned her back to a defender and sent the drop pass to Miller toward the edge of the 18, where she settled and fired into the bottom corner for the 1-0 lead.
It became 2-0 when in the 22nd minute Madeline Barker banked one off the post, taking a cross from Alexa Newfield. But UNCG answered just 17 seconds later, cutting the lead in half as Jaimey Etten headed in a cross from the left wing past keeper Ashley Baker.
Georgia completed its first half scoring in the 40th minute, as Meghan Gibbons played a through ball into the middle to find Torri Allen, who beat the keeper for her first career tally to push the lead to 3-1, which proved to be the halftime score.
The Bulldogs had a corner kick opportunity early in the second half, and Jamie Pollock and Bailey Powell each had shots on the play but the final chance went high as UNCG kept the Bulldogs from finding the net again. Newfield had a great look at the goal not long after, sending a laser straight for the upper 90, but Spartan goalkeeper Kelsey Kearney made a phenomenal save diving to tap it over the net and out of danger.
The teams each remained off the scoreboard until the 82nd minute, when Susannah Dennis tallied her first goal of the season as she capped off a great run for teammate Meghan Gibbons up the left sideline. After outracing her defender, Gibbons tapped a cross over and Dennis sent it past Kearney for the fourth and final goal of the evening, sealing Georgia's 4-1 win.
"This is good for us but we're humble," Allen said. "We know the SEC is different from non-conference games. This lets us know we can score goals and we can win in the SEC."
The four-goal effort marked the first time since 2001 that the Bulldogs scored four or more goals in consecutive games, doing so against LSU and Arkansas that season.
Georgia now has nine different goal-scorers on the season in a very balanced attacking output.
Tonight also marked the second game in a row in which the Bulldogs scored three in the first half after also doing so vs. Georgia State in last weekend's 4-1 victory at home. It has now been six straight outings that Georgia has scored at least two goals and five straight allowing fewer than two.
The Bulldogs ended outshooting the Spartans by a count of 19-5, while the teams each had five corner kick chances on the night.
UGA is now in need of just three more wins to reach No. 200 all-time.
The Bulldogs will open the Southeastern Conference slate against No. 9 Florida and South Carolina next Friday and Sunday at the UGA Soccer Stadium.
