FOLEY, Ala. – A goal in the 79th minute from freshman forward and second-team All-Sun Belt honoree Jimena Cabrero lifted Georgia State women's soccer to a 1-0 victory over Coastal Carolina in Wednesday night's opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Women's Soccer Championship at the Foley Sports Complex, moving the Panthers into the semifinals for the second consecutive year.

The win was GSU's fifth in a row, improving the team to 9-8-2 overall. Georgia State will take on No. 1 seed South Alabama (14-3-2) at 7 p.m. CT Friday in the semifinals, looking to punch its ticket to the Sun Belt Championship for just the second time in program history.

Georgia State got a few good looks at goal in the first half from Cabrero and Brooke Shank, but was unable to find the back of the net. Defensively, the Panthers' back line of Eva Diez Lois, Kamree Holloway, Morgan Muzi and Anna Remensnyder held strong and controlled a Coastal Carolina attack that entered Wednesday's contest averaging 15.1 shots per game against conference opponents, the second-highest mark in the league.

The scoreless tied carried over into the second half, but while the Panther back line continued to hold the Chanticleers in check, GSU continued to create scoring opportunities in their attacking third of the pitch.

Cabrero nearly booted in a shot from roughly 20 yards out in the 50th minute but the Coastal Carolina keeper made a great save and was able to punch the ball up and off the crossbar to keep the score knotted at zero. The Santander, Spain, native was able to capitalize with just over 10 minutes remaining, scoring her sixth goal of the year off a corner kick that curved through traffic inside the box and found the back of the net.

Georgia State ended the night with a 17-8 advantage in total shots and an 8-7 lead in shots on goal. Cabrero finished with five shots and four on target, tying her career high in both categories. Shank fired seven total shots on Wednesday, tying her career high.