STATESBORO, Ga. – A cool evening in Foley, Alabama set up a memorable night for the Eagles. Following a 5-0 loss to Troy on Sunday, the Eagles returned to the pitch to face off against that same Trojans team. The Blue and White were looking for revenge and would not be denied.
The evening began with both teams trying to get a feel for the pitch and find the soft spot in the defense. The Trojans struck first after a hand ball in the box in the 61st minute gave Troy a penalty kick. Kiersten Edlund took the PK and put it into the back of the net for a Trojans lead.
The Eagles began to pressure the Trojans and looked for the equalizer. In the 72nd minute senior Sarah Price decided to take things into her own hands, taking a shot from distance and putting it into the back of the net. With momentum shifting back toward the Eagles, they continued to threaten the Trojans net. Junique Rodriguez played a ball into the box to the back post. Sarah Price used her speed and heart to get her head on it and give the Eagles the 2-1 lead.
Lauren Karinshak continued to be dominate in net for the Eagles, improving her record to 8-7-2. Karinshak added 6 saves to her season total, extending her consecutive games with a save streak to 17. The Eagles back line helped shut down the Trojans just three days after allowing five goals in Troy.
The Blue and White will now have Thursday off to regroup and get ready for the semifinals. The Eagles will take on Coastal Carolina, who they defeated in Conway 1-0 to open up Sun Belt play this season. The Chanticleers defeated No. 2 seed Texas State 2-1 in overtime to advance to the semifinals. The match will take place Friday, November 3 at 8:00 p.m. EST.
MATCH FACTS
No. 3 Troy (8-10-2) – 1
No. 6 Georgia Southern (8-8-2) – 2
SCORING
61' – TROY – Kiersten Edlund (3)
72' – GS – Sarah Price (3) (Paige Hoover)
79' – GS – Sarah Price (4) (Junique Rodriguez)
NOTES
- Sarah Price scored both the Eagle goals, her third and fourth of the season.
- The Trojans outshot the Eagles 9-5 on the evening.
- Lauren Karinshak added another 6 saves this evening, increasing her total to 72.
- Lauren Karinshak kept her consecutive games with a save streak alive, extending it to 17 games.
- Paige Hoover assisted on both the Eagle goals.
- The Eagles earned their first victory against Troy in the conference tournament.
- The Blue and White advanced to their second Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals.
WHAT HEAD COACH BRIAN DUNLEAVY SAID
"It was a great game. The first half was excellent, both teams played really well. Troy came out in the second half and really took it to us the first 15 to 20 minutes. They got the penalty to go their way and went up 1-0. We had to make some changes and our bench did a fantastic job tonight. They came in and changed the course of the game. The starters have just been working so hard that it looked like they were hitting a wall. That's what teammates are for and that is what the culture of our team is now, players can step in and do a role. As the game wore on it was the players who brought in off the bench that made the biggest difference. The mentality we had coming from Troy (Sunday) was leave that loss at Troy. We knew we had to reboot and start fresh. The first goal was fantastic, what a finish by Sarah Price. We had a good build up play and we looked really good in transition play. The second goal was just fantastic work from Junique Rodriguez, she put a ball into the box and Sarah just had more heart and desire to get it over the line."
NEXT UP
The Eagles will take on Coastal Carolina in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Friday at 8:00 p.m. EST.