WILMINGTON, Del. (Oct. 25, 2023) - Georgian Court Women's Soccer suffered their first conference defeat Wednesday afternoon coming at the hands of Wilmington. In an evenly matched game, Wilmington scored late in the second half to take a 1-0 lead and held on by that final. The loss evens the Lions record at 4-5-6 this season and puts them at 3-1-5 in the CACC.

How it Happened
• Much of the afternoon, especially in the second half, was spent in the Lions defensive zone. 
• Wilmington did have a sizable lead in shots, 12-4, but neither team gave up many high-scoring opportunities.
• The first half saw just one corner kick. That came from GCU. Each team attempted two in the second.
• Wilmington was whistled for 10 fouls, seven in the second half. Georgian Court was called for just six, right at their season average.
• For a majority of the game the two teams were tearing up the middle of the field. That was especially true early as neither team had a shot for the first nine minutes. Abby Kennelly took the first but missed wide.
• The Wildcats had the first real opportunity to score. Emilie Larsen was met high in the box by Lions goaltender Carley Polchak. Polchak was unable to corral the ball on the ground and from her knees made a save on Larsen and the Lions cleared the ball out of harms way.
• That was the best scoring opportunity for either team in the first half and after 45 minutes the match was still scoreless.
• The second half was a lot like the first. Neither team was giving up scoring opportunities.
• Some of the Lions best sustained offense came in the 73rd minute. They played the ball into the box on a cross but couldn't connect. They drew a corner kick from though, however it was brushed aside.
• Less that a minute later, Wilmington again nearly took the lead. Evelyn Payne's shot attempt from a step inside the box was knocked up by Polchak. Fortunately for the Lions it hit off the crossbar and stayed out and Polchak got just enough to push it high.
• Five minutes later though, Wilmington finally broke through. Amelia Aquino carried the ball low into the box towards the goal line. She took a step around a defender and went short side to beat Polchak for the game's only goal.
• Needing offense, the Lions brought on a number of attackers but still couldn't generate a goal and the Wildcats held on 1-0.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Carley Polchak made five saves for the Lions.
• Juliana Rettino and Emily Clayton each had shots on goal.
• Abby Kennelly and Aliya Canfield also added shots.

For the Wildcats
• Mio Nakajima made two saves for the shutout win. 
• Amelisa Aquino came off the bench to score the only goal of the game.
• Alyssa Ruggeri totaled four shots.

News and Notes
• Georgian Court had been unbeaten in their first eight CACC games this season. It was the longest conference unbeaten streak to start a season since 2018.
• Carley Polchak has allowed no more than one goal in each of her last five appearances. 
• Grace Konfederak played in her 40th career game. 
• All-time Wilmington gets to within a single game of the Lions at 13-12-3. The Wildcats are 3-0-1 in the last four matches.
• This is the first time the Lions have been shutout in conference play this season.

Up Next
• It's the final road game of the regular season for the Lions. They are at Bridgeport Saturday, Oct. 28 at 12 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the men's game to follow.