University of Georgia Athletics
Townes Delivers Game-Winner Against Hogs
October 11, 2025 | Soccer, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
A year from now, when the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is going on in Poland, Mya Townes and Hailey Gordon could meet on the soccer field as members of opposing teams. Townes was on the United States' Concacaf U-20 team earlier this year, and Gordon recently participated in a Mexican U-20 training camp. But that's down the road a ways.
On Friday night at the Turner Soccer Complex, the two Georgia freshmen forwards teamed up on the game's only goal in the No. 22-ranked Bulldogs' 1-0 upset of No. 6 Arkansas. Gordon delivered the pass at the top of the Razorback penalty box about 18 minutes into the second half, and Townes fired a shot past a diving Evelyn Vitali, the Hogs' goalkeeper.
"We've talked so much about how we have to take our opportunities when they come, because we don't get a lot of them in the SEC. It is so hard even just to get the smallest sliver of a chance, so I knew that as soon as that ball came to my feet and I saw the smallest window, that was going to have to put as much power on it as I could to just try to sneak it past the keeper," a beaming Townes said.
It was Townes' third goal of the season, and Gordon's third assist.
"When I came into the game, my goal was to change the game with my speed and bring in energy and keep the intensity up, but also have composure," Gordon said. "I think there were multiple chances where I was getting close to the box and in the box, and I didn't freak out or panic. I made a couple of plays and then held my composure on that one play and played the ball to Mya, and she put it away for the Dawgs."
Townes' goal lifted Georgia (8-3-4, 4-1-1 SEC) to its second win in four games this season against teams ranked in the top 12 at the time. The Bulldogs opened with a 1-0 loss to then-No. 8 UCLA on Aug. 14, beat then-No. 12 North Carolina, 2-0, on Aug. 21, and fell 2-0 at then-No. 3 Tennessee on Oct. 2.
This is a Georgia team with some good veteran leadership, led by captains Cate Hardin (senior), Kiera Staude (junior) and Summer Denigan, a redshirt junior with nine goals, one off the SEC lead. But of the 14 Bulldogs who played Friday, five of them were true freshmen: Townes, Gordon, goalkeeper Hannah Folliard, forward Lily Kate Elphick and defender Ayda Pannell. Two other freshmen who have played and started plenty, defender Maddy Herniter and midfielder Ava Stack, were out Friday.
This is a team still learning with every minute together on the field, and with that experience comes comfort and confidence. Bulldogs coach Keidane McAlpine said Friday's win was a big one for the fan base that packed the stadium, and for the players.
"It does a lot for our confidence. Obviously, Arkansas is a perennial regular-season champion, and so to beat them here is great. At the same time, when you look at RPI and the postseason, it's a big-time win for this team. We needed it to kind of push ourselves forward," McAlpine said.
Arkansas has won outright or shared the SEC regular-season title four times in the previous six seasons, and the Razorbacks are now tied with No. 4 Tennessee for first in the standings with a 5-1-1 record in league play. The Bulldogs are in fourth place after their win, with three regular-season games remaining.
Back in the 1990s, Arkansas' men's basketball program was one of the best in the country thanks in part to its "40 Minutes of Hell" style of play. The Razorbacks hounded teams at both ends of the floor, creating turnovers, fouls and keeping their opponents off balance from start to finish. Arkansas' soccer team tries to do something similar.
From the outset Friday, Georgia tried to bring the attack to Arkansas, putting together multiple scoring chances in the early minutes, and dictating play as much as possible. McAlpine said the team has worked a lot on the energy required to play against Arkansas' aggressive style.
"I thought from the very first whistle, we actually brought that to the game, and it allowed our football that's been pretty good, to actually be showcased," he said.
For Townes, one of the top junior players in the country coming out of high school and club, who left John Champe High School in Aldie, Va., as the single-season and career goals record-holder, the goals for Georgia haven't come as quickly as she was expecting. A starter since the season opener against UCLA, Townes didn't score her first goal until the sixth game of the season, at Washington State. She added a second six games later, against Florida, and her third came three games after that.
"It's been very frustrating. But I've been leaning on the Lord, leaning on my teammates, and they've helped me so much," Townes said. "I've just talked to so many people, and just kind of tried to ground myself as much as possible, because I know that my identity doesn't lie in scoring, my identity doesn't lie in the player that I am. And so I had to bring the person that I am to the field, and whatever comes from that will come from that. And I'm glad that the goals are finally now starting to come, and it's giving me a lot more confidence, too."
Gordon and Townes enrolled early last spring, which gave them time to develop chemistry with one another and the rest of the team. That showed up Friday night.
"We immediately connected," Gordon said. "(McAlpine) was really excited to see what we were going to do on the field, he has so much faith in us, and then we were able to show everybody tonight."
The Bulldogs are back in action next Thursday when they play at Texas. They wrap up their home schedule against Auburn on Oct. 19.
Staff Writer
A year from now, when the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is going on in Poland, Mya Townes and Hailey Gordon could meet on the soccer field as members of opposing teams. Townes was on the United States' Concacaf U-20 team earlier this year, and Gordon recently participated in a Mexican U-20 training camp. But that's down the road a ways.
On Friday night at the Turner Soccer Complex, the two Georgia freshmen forwards teamed up on the game's only goal in the No. 22-ranked Bulldogs' 1-0 upset of No. 6 Arkansas. Gordon delivered the pass at the top of the Razorback penalty box about 18 minutes into the second half, and Townes fired a shot past a diving Evelyn Vitali, the Hogs' goalkeeper.
"We've talked so much about how we have to take our opportunities when they come, because we don't get a lot of them in the SEC. It is so hard even just to get the smallest sliver of a chance, so I knew that as soon as that ball came to my feet and I saw the smallest window, that was going to have to put as much power on it as I could to just try to sneak it past the keeper," a beaming Townes said.
It was Townes' third goal of the season, and Gordon's third assist.
"When I came into the game, my goal was to change the game with my speed and bring in energy and keep the intensity up, but also have composure," Gordon said. "I think there were multiple chances where I was getting close to the box and in the box, and I didn't freak out or panic. I made a couple of plays and then held my composure on that one play and played the ball to Mya, and she put it away for the Dawgs."
Townes' goal lifted Georgia (8-3-4, 4-1-1 SEC) to its second win in four games this season against teams ranked in the top 12 at the time. The Bulldogs opened with a 1-0 loss to then-No. 8 UCLA on Aug. 14, beat then-No. 12 North Carolina, 2-0, on Aug. 21, and fell 2-0 at then-No. 3 Tennessee on Oct. 2.
This is a Georgia team with some good veteran leadership, led by captains Cate Hardin (senior), Kiera Staude (junior) and Summer Denigan, a redshirt junior with nine goals, one off the SEC lead. But of the 14 Bulldogs who played Friday, five of them were true freshmen: Townes, Gordon, goalkeeper Hannah Folliard, forward Lily Kate Elphick and defender Ayda Pannell. Two other freshmen who have played and started plenty, defender Maddy Herniter and midfielder Ava Stack, were out Friday.
This is a team still learning with every minute together on the field, and with that experience comes comfort and confidence. Bulldogs coach Keidane McAlpine said Friday's win was a big one for the fan base that packed the stadium, and for the players.
"It does a lot for our confidence. Obviously, Arkansas is a perennial regular-season champion, and so to beat them here is great. At the same time, when you look at RPI and the postseason, it's a big-time win for this team. We needed it to kind of push ourselves forward," McAlpine said.
Arkansas has won outright or shared the SEC regular-season title four times in the previous six seasons, and the Razorbacks are now tied with No. 4 Tennessee for first in the standings with a 5-1-1 record in league play. The Bulldogs are in fourth place after their win, with three regular-season games remaining.
Back in the 1990s, Arkansas' men's basketball program was one of the best in the country thanks in part to its "40 Minutes of Hell" style of play. The Razorbacks hounded teams at both ends of the floor, creating turnovers, fouls and keeping their opponents off balance from start to finish. Arkansas' soccer team tries to do something similar.
From the outset Friday, Georgia tried to bring the attack to Arkansas, putting together multiple scoring chances in the early minutes, and dictating play as much as possible. McAlpine said the team has worked a lot on the energy required to play against Arkansas' aggressive style.
"I thought from the very first whistle, we actually brought that to the game, and it allowed our football that's been pretty good, to actually be showcased," he said.
For Townes, one of the top junior players in the country coming out of high school and club, who left John Champe High School in Aldie, Va., as the single-season and career goals record-holder, the goals for Georgia haven't come as quickly as she was expecting. A starter since the season opener against UCLA, Townes didn't score her first goal until the sixth game of the season, at Washington State. She added a second six games later, against Florida, and her third came three games after that.
"It's been very frustrating. But I've been leaning on the Lord, leaning on my teammates, and they've helped me so much," Townes said. "I've just talked to so many people, and just kind of tried to ground myself as much as possible, because I know that my identity doesn't lie in scoring, my identity doesn't lie in the player that I am. And so I had to bring the person that I am to the field, and whatever comes from that will come from that. And I'm glad that the goals are finally now starting to come, and it's giving me a lot more confidence, too."
Gordon and Townes enrolled early last spring, which gave them time to develop chemistry with one another and the rest of the team. That showed up Friday night.
"We immediately connected," Gordon said. "(McAlpine) was really excited to see what we were going to do on the field, he has so much faith in us, and then we were able to show everybody tonight."
The Bulldogs are back in action next Thursday when they play at Texas. They wrap up their home schedule against Auburn on Oct. 19.
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.
Players Mentioned
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