DAHLONEGA, Ga. - Three first-half goals lifted the 11th-ranked Saints of North Georgia past Anderson, 3-0, in non-conference women's soccer action Wednesday evening at the North Georgia Soccer Complex.
Anderson (9-8) closed its regular-season road schedule with the setback, while North Georgia (14-1) remained unbeaten in eight decisions at home this season and improved to 5-0 all-time versus the Trojans. The Saints claimed their fourth straight win, while AU dropped back-to-back decisions for the first time since mid-September.
Trojan freshman Summer Miller fired two of AU's three first-half shots inside the first 11 minutes of action, but was unable to convert, while the Saints' Abby Trevino scored the first goal on the contest at the 28:00 minute mark to give NGCSU a 1-0 edge.
North Georgia's Caroline Wallace boosted the Saints' lead to 2-0 in the 40th minute after taking a deflection from teammate Emily Dover for her fifth goal number of the season.
With 1:26 remaining in the opening half, Leanne South's header off a corner kick found its way into the AU net, giving NGCSU the 3-0 lead.
The Saints recorded 31 shots on the day, while AU notched five. NGCSU also held an 11-0 advantage in corner kicks.
Anderson sophomore keeper Kaitlyn Neipp, who started between the pipes for the Trojans, surrendered one goal while seeing 72 minutes of playing time and making nine saves. Junior net-minder Genevieve Hamilton entered the match in the 33rd minute and late in the second half, playing nearly 18 minutes, while surrendering two scores and recording four saves.
The Trojans wrap up their regular season on Saturday with a Homecoming match-up versus second-place Wingate, with the Trojans battling for position in next month's conference tournament, while the Bulldogs have clinched the No. two seed. Kick-off is slated for 2 p.m. at Trojan Stadium.
The top four teams in the SAC standings host conference quarterfinal tournament matchups and AU will clinch the third seed with a win past the Bulldogs. However, if the Trojans fall and Newberry wins at home over Carson-Newman, the Wolves hold the tie-breaking edge over the Trojans by virtue of their 2-1 win in September. In that case AU would slip to the fourth seed.
