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STATESBORO, Ga. – USC Upstate surrendered one goal in each half as Georgia Southern claimed a 2-0 victory over the Spartans Friday at Eagle Field.
Upstate (1-6-1) had the first chance to get on the scoreboard, however Melissa Pereira's (Cary, N.C.) shot off of Kayli Moore's (Severna Park, Md.) corner kick sailed wide.
Georgia Southern's (2-4-1) Sarah Oland took the first shot of the contest for the Eagles in the 16th-minute and was able to put her shot from inside the box past Upstate keeper, Rachel Collins (Raleigh, N.C.). The two teams combined for 11 shots in the first half, with Georgia Southern taking seven and Upstate registering four.
"We played a more complete game on both the offensive and defensive ends," said head coach Renee Lopez. "However, we made two costly mistakes that ultimately hurt us today. Our young team has been working hard to reduce errors and they have been playing with more confidence. The efforts of our team today are something that we can build off of as we prepare for Sunday's match at Presbyterian College."
The Spartans faced a barrage of Eagle shots in the early moments of the second half. Georgia Southern took five shots in the first 10 minutes of the second half and was able to increase the lead to 2-0 when Carlee Storey put her shot in the back of the net.
Upstate managed just two shots in the final 45 minutes as Georgia Southern held on for the 2-0 victory.
The Eagles tallied 21 shots in the match and 11 on-goal compared to six shots for the Spartans (one on goal). Georgia Southern also led the way in corner kicks (11-3).
Collins made nine saves between the pipes while Eagle goal keeper Kailey Kiefus recorded one save.
The Spartans will return to action Sunday afternoon when they travel to Clinton, S.C., for a 2 p.m. match against Presbyterian College.
