Georgia Gwinnett College, Bellevue Score Semifinal Wins in 2024 CAC Women’s Soccer Championships
Georgia Gwinnett College and Bellevue University (Nebraska) will play for postseason hardware after earning semifinal shutout victories Monday evening in the 2024 Continental Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Championships at the Grizzly Soccer Complex in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
GGC, the tournament's top seed, defeated No. 5 seed Talladega College (Alabama) 4-0 before No. 2 seed Bellevue scored a 1-0 victory against No. 3 seed University of Jamestown (North Dakota).
The Grizzlies and Bruins will meet in the tournament final on Wednesday, November 13, at 7 p.m.
This marks the fourth straight final featuring GGC and Bellevue, with the Grizzlies winning in 2021 and 2023. Bellevue came out on top in a penalty-kick shootout during the 2022 campaign.
Here are recaps of Monday's semifinal matches:
Semifinal Match 1: No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett College 4, No. 5 Talladega College 0
Riko Yasuzawa scored twice to spark top-seeded Georgia Gwinnett College past No. 5 seed Talladega College (Alabama) 4-0 in Monday evening's first semifinal match.
The midfielder drilled a shot into the back of the net in the 22nd minute to open the scoring. She later scored after receiving a pass from Pernilla Westergren in the 71st minute with a tally that gave GGC a 3-0 advantage.
Cecilie Povlsen scored the Grizzlies' second goal in the 29th minute with an unassisted tally.
Stella Van Der Sluis netted her fourth goal of the fall campaign from 12 yards after receiving a right pass from Povlsen during the 76th minute for the team's fourth goal of the match.
GGC held a commanding 18-4 shot advantage, with 13 shots coming in the first half. Yasuzawa recorded a match-high five shot attempts, while Aurora Miglio and Westergren each attempted three shots in the match.
The Grizzlies also attempted all seven corner kicks in Monday's match.
Talladega's Natalie Nedd made seven saves, with five saves during the first half. Annalise Vincent sparked the team's offensive attack with two shot attempts.
Semifinal Match 2: No. 2 Bellevue University 1, No. 3 University of Jamestown 0
Emma Madej bent a shot from 20 yards into the upper right corner of the goal to provide the lone goal as No. 2 seed Bellevue University (Nebraska) knocked off No. 3 seed University of Jamestown (North Dakota) 1-0 Monday night. It was the third match between the two teams this season, with this outcome giving the Bruins a 2-1 edge for the fall season series.
Maju Serrano played a free kick down the left sideline to Madej, who proceeded to weave through the Jamestown defense. She then cut back to the middle of the pitch to make the shot that curved just inside the right post and past an outstretched goalkeeper Allyson Johnson.
Bellevue controlled the statistics of a match that was played in dense fog. The victors outshot the Jimmies 10-1 in the first half and registered 10 more shots during the second half.
Jamestown mounted a charge while seeking to find the equalizer goal. The team recorded three of its four corner kicks and put three shots on goal during the second half.
The Jimmies' Eve Hoppe attempted a shot with two seconds remaining following a left corner kick by Kayla Combs. However, Hoppe's shot sailed right of the goal.
Alessia Ricciardi stopped all three shots to post the shutout in front of the Bruins' goal. Mia Hurt attempted a match-high five shots for the victors, while Madej and Baylee Tex each had three shot attempts.
For the Jimmies, Johnson recorded 10 saves, including six during the second half to keep the team within striking distance. Vega Canada led the offensive attack with two shots.