Georgia Southern women's soccer tallied two goals in the match's first 10 minutes while recording a second straight clean sheet in defeating Jacksonville State, 2-0, on Sunday afternoon at Bo Pitts Field.
The Eagles evened their season record to 3-3-1 with the victory, while Jacksonville State falls to 3-4 on the year. Georgia Southern will hit the road for its final two non-conference contests this week, beginning on Thursday with a neutral-site matchup against Washington State to be played on the campus of the University of Georgia.
Just 58 seconds into the match, the Eagles went in front as freshman Claire Casey headed home a corner kick from junior Erin Wilkins inside the left post for the 1-0 advantage. It's the second straight match in which Casey has recorded a header goal off of a corner kick and it's also Georgia Southern's sixth goal this season off of a set piece.
In the ninth minute, the Eagles would double their lead thanks to a nifty run from redshirt sophomore Kendall Wilson. The center back dribbled through the midfield, then fed a pass to redshirt junior Kyleigh Drew, whose lay-off found junior Bri Conley at the top of the box. Conley's shot beat Jacksonville State goalkeeper Poppy Bastock high for her first goal of the season and the 2-0 lead.
Georgia Southern a 4-3 edge in shots at halftime and the two-goal advantage.
After halftime, the Eagles used their depth to keep the Gamecocks away from high percentage chances. Jacksonville State would finish the match with only seven shots - three on goal. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Katie Oakley tallied three saves in recording her second shutout of the season.
"Very pleased with the effort today," Georgia Southern head women's soccer coach Chris Adams said. "The recipe in the second half against North Florida here on Thursday was the recipe for us in the first half here today against Jacksonville State. We enjoyed having a good margin for error. The biggest growth for us is following the Mercer game, where we were up 2-0 and ending up tying 2-2. We did a really good job of seeing the game out this time and making sure that we didn't let them back in."
Bastock made six saves for the Gamecocks on the day. Georgia Southern had a 6-4 edge in corner kicks, and the Eagles were whistled for six fouls and four offsides, compared to five fouls and two offsides for Jacksonville State.
