Soccer drops pair of tough PBC road games

Bobcats tie Flagler 0-0 on Senior Day in final home game of 2010-11 season

The GCSU soccer team’s road struggles continued, as the Bobcats dropped a tough 2-0 decision against UNC Pembroke in North Carolina this past Wednesday. The Braves scored their first goal 12 minutes into the second half, and then they added another one at the 73-minute mark to seal the victory.

Despite being undefeated with one tie at home in 2010, the Bobcats have yet to win away from their home field.

The Bobcats outshot UNC Pembroke 14-9, but Braves goalkeeper Britney Bennett came up with seven big saves to get the shutout. GCSU also had five corners to UNC Pembroke’s two, but they were not able to capitalize on their opportunities.

Nisha Dixon | gcsunade.com

Freshman forward Katie Taylor battles for the ball in the Bobcats 0-0 tie against Flagler Oct. 16. The contest was the final home one of the season for the Bobcats and the last for the seniors.

On Oct. 16, the Bobcats celebrated Senior Day, playing Flagler to a 0-0 draw in a PBC matchup. It was the final home game for six Bobcat seniors, including goalkeeper Mary Rob Plunkett, midfielder Kelli McLane, forward Jessica Newland, forward Kayla Emerson, defender Jessica Binkowski and defensive midfielder Ally Treat.

“They’re a great bunch of girls who have worked hard both on and off the field for us,” head coach Hope Clark said.

Plunkett, an All-American, turned in a strong performance for the Bobcats, recording four saves in the extended 110-minute game.

GCSU (7-5-1, 4-2-1 in PBC play) had a chance to take the lead when freshman forward Katie Taylor’s shot just missed. The Saints soon advanced down the field, but Plunkett came up with a save with just a minute and a half remaining. The second half was largely the same as the first half.

The last 15 minutes provided plenty of excitement, but the Bobcats were unable to capitalize on several opportunities. The Saints had similar misfortune, as Plunkett came up with another huge save with four minutes left to send the game to overtime scoreless.

Flagler had more chances to get the win in both overtime periods, but Plunkett was there to save the day. The shutout was the 19th of her career, moving her to sixth all-time in Peach Belt Conference. The Bobcats finished the game outshooting the Saints 21-14 and had seven corner kicks to the Saints’ four.

The Bobcats dropped a tough 1-0 conference game at North Georgia on Oct. 12. Natalie Douglas’s goal with 6:28 remaining was good enough for the Saints to top GCSU.

Plunkett recorded six saves in the losing effort.

GCSU had an easier time on Oct. 9, running past Clayton State, 4-1. Junior midfielder Megan McAlpin got the first goal of the game for the Bobcats at the 16:10 mark in the first half on an assist from freshman midfielder Brittaney Borror.

Freshman midfielder Taylor Yee added her third goal of the year with three minutes left in the half to extend the lead to 2-0.

Seven minutes into the second half, Borror scored her fourth goal of the year to make it a 3-0 advantage. Taylor would add another goal from 35 yards out later in the half to seal the victory for the Bobcats. The Bobcats outshot the Lakers 36-17, and had a 12-5 cushion on corner kicks. Plunkett finished with four saves for the game.

“We haven’t really hit our peak yet,” Clark said. “I thought we played well this past week. The Flagler game was a tough one.”

The Bobcats return to action Oct. 23 as they travel to Columbus State.

They will follow that up with a matchup at USC Aiken on Oct. 27 and their regular season finale Oct. 30 at Montevallo.

Posted by Scotty Thompson on Oct 22 2010. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.