Braves Tie With Bobcats
UNCP tied with Georgia college 2-2 after being down 2-0 for most of the game. PN Photo/Trevon Knight
The UNCP soccer team traveled to Milledgeville, GA on October 20 to battle the Georgia College Bobcats. The game ended in a draw. The draw marked the first tie of the season for UNCP who stretched their unbeaten streak out to four games as well. It was the second tie in the last three home contests for Georgia College.
Georgia College struck first in this game at around the 1:51 mark with a cross into the back of the net.
hen less than 10 minutes later the Bobcats scored off a deflection off a free kick which put them up by 2. In the 86th minute UNCP’s Stacy Scott and Bree Mason passed the ball well enough to get Carly Rochelle open, and the redshirt junior scored to bring the score to 2-1. 91 seconds later, Rochelle and Mason assisted on Alexis Pitman’s goal which tied up the game at 2.
Rochelle logged points for the second-straight game. She also matched a season-best with three shots.
This was Mason’s second multi-assist game of the season. Pittman scored her fourth goal of the season and Stacy Scott got six shots in this game and an assist for the second straight game.
While a win would’ve been preferred for the Braves, the tie comes with some silver linings. The team showed resiliency and an ability to score quickly in a clutch situation, putting away two goals in a 91 second span after trailing for almost the entire match to that point.
The tie looks much better for UNCP record-wise than a loss, and the points from a draw help the team’s postseason hopes more comparatively.
UNCP head coach Lars Andersson knew the team was in for a difficult matchup ahead of the contest.
“If I wasn’t coaching in college, this is a game I’d pay to see, and I’d drive to go to this game. We look forward to playing them every year,” Andersson said earlier in the week.
Aside from the late-game scoring drama, the matchup between the Braves and Bobcats also pitted two of the Peach Belt Conference’s best goalkeepers against one another.
Senior Ashlee Graham defended for Georgia College, while Junior Gina Ryan minded the net for UNCP.
Graham and Ryan both rank in the top 4 in save percentage in the conference, top 10 in saves, and top 6 in goals allowed on the season.
Despite the intriguing goalkeeper matchup being a main attraction coming into the game, both teams allowed two goals in a match that was a bit higher scoring than many may have expected.
Andersson attributed this more to good front line play from the strikers of both teams than bad play by either of the two goalkeepers.
“[This was] a display of two of the very best goalkeepers in the conference, and also some of the best strikers,” Andersson emphasized.
