Box Score MILLEGEVILLE, Ga. – In a hard-fought battle Saturday at Bobcat Field, Georgia College Soccer (3-2-1, 1-2 PBC) came up on the short end of a 2-1 finish with Clayton State University (5-2, 2-1 PBC). Each team netted a goal early in the first half, then the Lakers got the winner late in the second to finish the contest.
Clayton got the scoring started in the sixth minute, as Maria Marti Bartis took a ball past the left side of the defense and to the right corner of the goal for the 1-0 lead. Just 18 seconds later, Maddie Stephen (Norcross) provided the equalizer, taking an entry from Sol Baldassini (Miami, Florida) that was a virtual mirror image of the earlier Laker goal. Stephen's second goal of the season found the far left post and ricocheted in for the 1-1 score.
When the halftime horn hit, both teams were still tied Clayton State looking a bit more active with an 8-3 lead in shots. It would take until the 84th minute for the Lakers to get the lead, again from Marti Bartis, as the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) leader in shots made good on another, as a ball from Jane McKevitt squirted through the middle for the eventual finish.
With just 6:44 left in the match, the Bobcats picked up the intensity, and got a couple of solid shot attempts off that came up empty in the loss. The shots evened up, as the Lakers finished with a 14-11 advantage.
Bobcat goalkeeper Ashlee Graham (Decatur) was active in the net, making four saves in six tries in the loss, including a diving flick of a point-blank attempt and another diving grab of a decent bicycle-kick early in the second half. Laker netminder Jessica Charman had two saves in the victory.
The Bobcats are back in action Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m., playing host to UNC Pembroke (3-2, 1-0 PBC). The Braves host No. 9 Columbus State University today.
The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at @GCBobcats on social media for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit GCBobcats.PhotoReflect.com to purchase photo prints from home athletic contests.
