Women's Soccer Sun Belt Conference Member Institutions

Eagles Win Thriller; Trojans Blank Red Wolves; App Earns First SBC Win

Sunday, October 2

Eagles Soccer Wins Overtime Thriller Against Troy
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Georgia Southern women's soccer team defeated Sun Belt opponent Troy 2-1 at home on Sunday afternoon. The Eagles and the Trojans faced off for an aggressive match at Eagle Field, which ended with a golden goal by freshman Nicole Aussin in double overtime. Junior Sarah Price put the Eagles on the board early in the second half of the match to score her fourth goal of the season, but Troy's Julia Winter evened the score up later in the half, 1-1. The two teams continued to battle throughout regulation and the first overtime period, and were two minutes through double overtime when senior Jennifer Wittick kicked a cross to Aussin, who scored her first goal of the season and clenched the victory for Georgia Southern.

MATCH FACTS
Georgia Southern (5-7-1) - 2
Troy (5-6-3) - 1

SCORING
62' – GS – Sarah Price beat the Troy defense, scoring the first goal of the game into the top right of the goal from 12 yards out.
72' - TROY - Julia Winter scores from five yards out after the ball is deflected around the box, tying the score at 1-1.
102' - GS - Freshman Nicole Aussin shoots from 15 yards out on an assist by Jenn Wittick, clenching the win for the Eagles in double overtime.

NOTES
- The game-winning goal by Nicole Aussin was also the first of her career.
- Freshman Lauren Karinshak (5-5-1) went the distance between the pipes for the Eagles, tallying an impressive seven saves.
- Sarah Price scored her fourth goal of the season in the second half, now leading the Eagles in goals (4) and points (10).
- GS defeated Troy for the second time in school history. Troy knocked the Eagles out of the Sun Belt tournament last season.
- The Eagles have only one home game left at Eagle Field. GS will celebrate senior day and face off against Appalachian State on Oct. 16 at 1 p.m.

Trojans Shut Out Red Wolves in Rivalry Game
LITTLE ROCK – The Trojan soccer team earned its third straight victory over Arkansas State on Sunday afternoon, downing the Red Wolves 2-0 on goals from Doro Greulich and Quin Wilkes.

Little Rock (7-6, 2-3 Sun Belt Conference) scored both against Arkansas State (3-6-3, 1-4-1) its goals in the first half, and Sara Small earned her fourth shutout of the season by making three saves.

The Trojans' first goal of the match came thanks to a shot by Greulich. Shannon Shields took a shot from inside the six-yard box that got blocked by an Arkansas State defender, and the loose ball rolled toward the left side of the net. The Red Wolves keeper went after the loose ball, but Greulich got to it first, turned away from the goal and ripped a shot from a sharp angle into the vacated net.

Wilkes got the Trojans' second goal thanks to a perfect cross by Caitlyn Eddy. Fali Garuba laid a ball off to Eddy on the left edge of the penalty area, and Eddy launched the ball toward the far post right before it went over the end line. Wilkes was in the exact right spot for the cross, standing still as she headed it past the keeper into the net.

Small was not tested often, but she had a spectacular save on a close-range Red Wolves shot in the first half. She also leapt for a save with under a minute remaining to preserve her shutout.

In total, Little Rock outshot Arkansas State 20-4 including a 9-3 edge in shots on goal.

The Trojans are on the road next week, visiting Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina. The Trojans will kick off against Mountaineers on Friday at 6 p.m.

Apps Regain Stride, Down ULM 3-1 in First SBC Win
BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University women’s soccer found its nonconference rhythm, having three student-athletes score to overcome an early 1-0 deficit to defeat UL Monroe 3-1 on Sunday afternoon.

“I am so proud of this program,” head coach Sarah Strickland said. “When the cards are stacked against you, it helps you determine your character and also lets you know who your friends are and who believes in you. Thank you for all the encouragement, belief and support that we received from so many alumni, parents and former coaches to help us earn this win against a very good ULM team. I was very impressed with our finishing today and with the performance of the entire group.”

The Mountaineers (6-6-2, 1-3-2 Sun Belt) came out with fire and intensity to start the game, but the Warhawks (6-6-1, 3-2 Sun Belt) were able to match the intensity early, scoring the first goal in the 9th minute. But the Black and Gold are familiar with this position, this is the fifth time this season that Appalachian has overcome 0-1 to win the match.

App State fiercely responded to battle over the entire field. The Mountaineers got several shots, but finally broke the two-match seal on the net in the 37th minute when junior Morgan Mosack got her second goal of the season off a great ball from freshman Kristin Brown to equalize the match at 1-1. The assist is Brown’s first of her college career.

The Black and Gold took the tie into halftime before once again coming out with high energy. With the momentum from the end of the first half carrying them forward, Appalachian took the lead in the 67th minute when freshman Maggie Hanusek found redshirt sophomore Erin Settle for the game-winning goal – Settle’s fourth goal of the season and second game-winner.

Breaking the floodgates open, the Mountaineers put the match out of the reach in the 80th minute when, off a breakaway pass by Settle, senior Jane Cline beat the keeper and fired the ball into the left corner of the net, her seventh of the year.

Junior Sam Steyl protected the net for the entire 90 for Appalachian. Steyl finished with three saves on the day and the one goal allowed, facing seven shots.

Back To Their Ways

For the fifth time this season, Appalachian came back from a 1-0 deficit to win the match (Northern Kentucky, Radford, Maryland, Gardner-Webb, ULM), however this was the first come-from-behind victory for the Mountaineers in Sun Belt Conference play.

To overcome the deficit, they had to have a total team effort and that’s exactly what they got on Sunday. Getting back to their ways, the Mountaineers had great play off the bench from Alexa Asher, Settle, Sarah Moon, Brown and Hanusek. Settle had the game-winning goal and an assist while both Brown and Hanusek got assists.

App State had just as many total shots as they did on Friday against Arkansas State (22), but finished with a season-high 16 shots on goal (the most SOG since Oct. 25, 2013 at The Citadel – 18), keeping an immense amount of pressure on the ULM goalkeeper. And where finishing has been an issue for the team in the last few weeks, the Mountaineers had no trouble on Sunday, putting up the most amount of goals since the season opener against Northern Kentucky.

Leading the offensive attack in shots was Cline with eight total shots and five on goal. Behind her was Sharon Osterbind, who finished with three shots and two on frame, while Jackie Nieradka, Mosack and Settle all finished with two shots on goal. Moon, Lindsey Tully and Aubrey Fletcher also had one shot.