Lakewood, N.J.- On a day that will rank as one of the warmest home games in program history (93 degrees at the start), Georgian Court University kept its cool Thursday afternoon as the Lions doubled up visiting NYIT, 4-2, on Investors Bank Field in non-conference women's soccer action.
The win improves GCU to 1-2 on the year while the Bears slip to .500 at 2-2 overall.
Georgian Court struck first in the 13th minute of action (12:30) when
Heather Arbachesky one-timed a
Kaitlin Lister cross to make it 1-0 Lions. NYIT countered at 18:53, when a
Jess Hawley (Sr.-Rockville Centre, N.Y.) free kick settled into the upper left of the GCU net from about 20 yard out.
The Bears were not finished dialing long distance as
Nikki Bermudez (So.-Oceanside, N.Y.) sent in a booming go-ahead blast, courtesy of a
Natalia Reynisdottir (Jr.-Kopavogur, Iceland) feed,
from the top of the circle at 24:48.
GCU's
Krystal Hund tied the contest at 2-2 in the 29th minute when the relentless freshman swiped the ball from a dribbling NYIT goalkeeper (
Jessie Sabal) and proceeded to pour in her first collegiate tally.
The score would remain knotted until the 77:50 when another zany scenario benefited the home team. Sabal clubbed a kick to clear the NYIT zone, but found the body of GCU's Arbachesky instead. The resulting rebound settled on the boot of
Erin Wimmer who calmly popped in what would be the game-winner.
Kaylie Wessberg added the always-key insurance goal at 83:43, a cascading shot into the upper left from a difficult angle, to secure the triumph. Hund assisted on the play to earn her first helper.
The Lions posted a 19-11 shot advantage, including a 12-6 surplus on frame.
Natalie Axelsson was credited with the win after compiling four saves in the GCU net. Sabal (Sr.-Valley Stream, N.Y.) suffered the loss with eight saves over 90:00 of action.
Georgian Court kicks of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) portion of its schedule this Saturday with a 2:30 p.m. showdown at Concordia College (NY).
