Box score
ANDERSON, S.C. - Three second-half goals by visiting North
Georgia foiled Anderson's upset bid as the 25th-ranked Lady Saints
rallied to down the Trojans, 3-1, in non-conference women's soccer
action Thursday afternoon at Trojan Stadium.
North Georgia improved to 10-1 on the season and has won nine
straight since dropping a narrow decision to Belmont Abbey in early
September. Anderson dropped to 4-7-1 overall.
AU sophomore Carrie Settle's header in the 16th minute gave the
upset-minded Trojans the advantage - one that Anderson would hold
for the next fifty-plus minutes. The Columbia, S.C., native booted
her team-high sixth score of the season as she gained control of
the ball just in front of the Lady Saints' net.
North Georgia's Samantha Abrahart nearly posted the equalizer at
the 18:25 mark, but Anderson keeper Kaitlyn Neipp made a diving
stop on the attempt to preserve the lead.
The teams traded scoring opportunities off free kicks later in
the half, but neither was able to capitalize and the Trojans held
the lead at halftime.
Abrahart evened the score in the 56th minute as she took a feed
from Casey Smith, the reigning Peach Belt Conference Defender of
the Week, and drove the shot to the right side of the net past a
diving Neipp.
The Lady Saints' offensive pressure paid dividends when junior
Emily Dover recorded the game-winner at the 67:41 mark off a pass
from Abrahart, giving NGCSU a 2-1 edge and North Georgia put the
contest out of reach on a Danielle Brannan score with less than
five minutes on the clock.
"We played well in the first half," said Anderson head coach
Jason Dowiak. "Bur defensively we didn't handle their pressure in
the second half. ."
North Georgia held a 12-3 advantage in shots on the afternoon
and recorded five corner kicks to AU's one. Neipp went the full
contest between the pipes for the Trojans, recording six saves,
while Kirsten Ross earned the win for NGCSU.
Anderson jumps back into South Atlantic Conference action when
the Mars Hill Lions invade Trojan Stadium on Saturday for a 1 p.m.
kick-off in the first match of a women's/men's doubleheader.