Greensboro, NC – Greensboro College Women's Soccer took the pitch today to face the Averette University Cougars. Coming off two straight road wins the team was excited for the opportunity to keep their unbeaten streak alive at home on Pride Field. Despite the cloudy and wet conditions, the game was electric with both teams having a multitude of chances in the attacking third throughout the full 90 minutes.
The game started out fast with each team holding possession in the attacking third but neither team could get anything going towards goal in the first 15 minutes. With each team defending well it sparked multiple counter attacks for both sides, which led to a few shots in around the box for both sides. Greensboro's back line really showed their toughness in the first half, not allowing a single shot on goal. While the Cougars were starting to hold steady offensive possession, the Pride quickly flipped the field and earned a penalty kick in the 30th minute.
Unfortunately it would not be converted but it gave GC the momentum they needed to finish the half strong. The first half would end 0-0 but GC was knocking on the door towards the end of the half thanks to great play by Alex Hyde and Skylar Molnar. Going into the break the Pride had played the bulk of the final 15 minutes in their attacking zone and were looking to continue that momentum in the second.
The second half did not start how the Pride would have wanted it to as the Cougars forced the Pride to drop back and defend for the first 5 minutes of the half. This early second half pressure from Averett resulted in a Cougar goal in the 51st minute to put them up 1-0 over the Pride. After the restart, the match would get chippy, as each team would concede multiple fouls over the next 10 minutes including a yellow card against Averett. This style of gameplay is what the Pride needed to get things going offensively as they started to sustain attacking pressure as the match crossed into the final half hour.
In the 67th minute Amery Skinner, the Pride's leading scorer, would put the team on her back and score a wonderful goal to tie the game at 1-1. This goal would give the Pride the momentum they needed after having to defend most the second of the second half. The Cougars would try to find a winner in the final 15 minutes of the game, but Sofia Pagnamenta made some big saves to keep the unbeaten streak alive.
The defense shined in this match even with the Cougars totally 15 shot attempts, they were able to keep everything wide and 11 of those shots were not quality shots. The match would end in a thrilling 1-1 draw improving the Pride to 2-1-2 on the season and unbeaten in four straight matches.
The Pride will host inner city rival Guilford College on Tuesday, September 19th in their next match. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00pm as GC will look to extend their unbeaten streak to five game.
