Georgia Southern women's soccer tallied a pair of goals in each half to successfully open up its 2023 home slate with a 4-1 victory over visiting North Florida on Thursday evening at Eagle Field.
The Eagles moved to 2-1 with the victory, while handing the Ospreys (1-1-1) their first loss of the brief season. Georgia Southern returns to action on Sunday afternoon, traveling to Coral Gables to take on the University of Miami in a 1 p.m. match against Hurricanes.
Fifth-year senior Isabel Kopp got the Eagles started with her first career goal as she took a slotted pass from senior Maya Zovko in the left side of the box and finished inside the far post in the 15th minute for the early 1-0 lead.
In the 30th minute, the Eagles doubled that lead as sophomore Carley Borgelt finished a cross from freshman Meredith Pugh from the top of the box that beat UNF goalkeeper Sarah Barrentine high for the 2-0 advantage. The Eagles would take the 2-0 lead into halftime, holding an 8-2 edge in shots at the break.
"A fast start was what we talked about all week," Georgia Southern head women's soccer coach Chris Adams said. "We hadn't scored a goal in the first half yet, so we preached that. We started fast in practice, and if you're gonna start fast in a game, you've got to emulate that in practice. I thought it paid dividends today."
In the second half, senior Simone Timm found a streaking Pugh down the left side. Pugh dribbled into the box, then crossed to the six where fifth-year senior Faith Phillips finished in the 52nd minute for a 3-0 lead.
North Florida was able to pull one back in the 61st minute as Avery Raimondo's cross from the right side found the head of Kayla Bond, who scored inside the far post to make the score 3-1. But the Eagles quickly answered in the 67th minute as junior Smith Cathey's point blank finish, off of assists from Bri Conley and Erin Wilkins, clinching the match and the 4-1 victory.
It was the first time the Eagles have tallied four goals in a match since defeating Appalachian State, 4-1, on September 17, 2021. Georgia Southern finished the match with a 17-7 edge in shots and a 5-4 edge in corner kicks.
"Scoring those two goals in the first half gave us a margin for error and allowed us to share the workload in the second half, which was important," Coach Adams said. "Getting that third one seemingly put it away, but like all Eric Faulconer-coached teams, you knew they weren't going to quit. They get a goal to make it 3-1, but we have an answer to that to go up 4-1 and be able to empty the bench. It was a great day, and a great home opener. Two goals in each half, four goals total, which it's been a while since we've done that. Very pleased with our effort as every player who came off the bench was ready to go and put in a great shift tonight."