Two rebound goals give Bobcats playoff win

Published 11:55 am Tuesday, November 12, 2024

It was just three weeks ago that Georgia College & State University soccer got the taste of victory in Peach Belt Conference play.

That taste hasn’t gone away.

With the 2024 season on the line, Jack Marchant’s Bobcats found a way to rebound two shots on goal into the back of the net Saturday and defeat the Clayton State Lakers 2-1 on the home field in Milledgeville. Not only was this GCSU’s fifth straight win since defeating Lander 1-0 three weeks ago at home, but it came in the quarterfinals of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament.

It’s also the first postseason victory for Marchant, now in his third season leading the GCSU soccer program.

“It’s been a kind of surreal couple of weeks,” said Marchant. “In terms of, my first two years here, you did kind of feel it was coming to the end of the season and you were counting down the days. This season, we haven’t felt like we’re near the end. This team is nowhere near done.

“You have to earn the things you get. We’re on a five-game win streak now. This is the first time we’ve hosted (the playoffs) since 2015, the first time past the quarterfinals since 2018. The good times keep rolling. We as a staff have to let them enjoy the night, but keep them grounded as we focus to win on Friday.”

And it is on this Friday when the Bobcats go to Columbus State to face the top-seeded and No. 2 nationally-ranked Cougars in the semifinals. On Sept. 21, GCSU played at Columbus State and lost 4-0. The Cougars put nine goals on the board in its quarterfinal win over South Carolina-Beaufort Saturday.

Marchant didn’t want to think about Columbus State until returning to work Monday. Instead, discussion Saturday centered around GCSU turning the corner after going through either ties or losses in the first five Peach Belt matches of 2024.

“We said it all year long, we were performing well but maybe not getting the results our performances deserved,” he said. “Now, we are becoming a team difficult to beat. We are putting balls in the back of the net (15 goals in the five wins). When you get on streaks, they are hard to break. Again, I think it’s everything coming to fruition over the past three years. Things are clicking.”

Clayton State led Saturday’s match 1-0 at halftime. Then the Bobcats got goals first from Ava Martin rebounding a long shot on goal from Lily Markey – playing midfield – almost eight minutes into the second half.

There would have been overtime had the score stayed 1-1 through regulation time (no OT in regular season matches). But with more than seven minutes to go, the shot on goal – a little bit closer – from Sydney Charles was blocked but rebounded by Aralyn Everett.

“We talked at halftime that we were playing a very good team defensively,” said Marchant, whose team tied Clayton State 0-0 in Morrow Oct. 2. “We just had to be patient. The two times we showed a little bit of composure … they proved to be goals. They were cool, calm and collected.”

As has been the case most of the season, the Bobcat defense was stellar, Clayton State’s goal being only the third allowed in the last five matches. One fifth-year senior, playing on the back line, who did not sub out Saturday was Taylor Salvaggio, and she never slowed down when the ball was live.

She said the energy to go a full 90 minutes comes from her teammates, her coaches and anyone who yells at her and backs her up.

“It’s totally mental after about 80 minutes,” said Salvaggio. “You have to push through the last 10. I have my teammates and coaches push me through that.

“I did not want (my college career) to end (tonight). It’s so crazy that finally after five years we were able to host, and now we’re moving to the second round, which I’ve never done.”

Clayton State had the only goal, but the Bobcats had more shots, 8 to 3, in the first half. Martin took one of the first ones in the middle five minutes into the action, and the Laker goalkeeper knocked the ball away. It gave the Bobcats a corner kick, but Morgan Amrozowicz overshot everybody.

The Lakers were immediately on their attacking end and drew a foul, but Salvaggio headed away the free kick of about 40 yards.

Savannah Sause is another solid defender for Marchant, and inside of 36 minutes she blocked a ball and joined Salvaggio in a pair of clearing kicks. Salvaggio would also take the ball over the middle looking to ignite the offense. Her passes often got the Bobcats throw-ins inside the 18 yards of the penalty box.

But at 29:55, as GCSU couldn’t get any results out of a series of crossing passes, Clayton State went on a break, and Carrie Consolino had the ball, turned and shot in the middle for 1-0 Lakers.

Other than that attack, first-half possession was owned by GCSU, and more crossing passes came from Sarah King, Amrozowicz and Everett. They got a corner kick with under 26 minutes to play, Salvaggio got her head on the ball, but the Lakers were able to clear.

Martin had a 20-yard shot saved at 23:40. At 22:05 Martin passed to Amrozowicz for a shot on the move the keeper knocked over the net for another corner kick. The Bobcats got two corners in this sequence but couldn’t get any points despite Salvaggio’s efforts.

Then, the offsides whistles hindered GCSU’s attack, three of them coming in an eight-minute span. Salvaggio had a shot on the run saved at 17:45, but then Bobcat goalkeeper Maddie Drake recorded a save at 7:50. Give-and-go action between Salvaggio and Abbey Eison led to a Laker foul and 40-yard free kick at 5:23, but the Lakers sent back the boot from Salvaggio.

As Salvaggio passed to Ali Amrozowicz, the keeper got to her ball at 3:40. Ali and Grace Phillips paired together for another shot that missed at 2:50. Ali crossed two more times in the final two minutes with no results.

Clayton State picked up its possession time in the second half, but Sause and Markey made a pair of steals as play resumed. Everett’s cross inside to King resulted in a wide shot two minutes in, and then Morgan Amrozowicz earned her team a corner kick at 38:33. Clayton cleared away the corner and made a push to the other end for its own corner try at 36:55. Chole Markey disrupted their ensuing shot attempt.

Chole’s twin sister Lily four minutes later took her shot the keeper batted away but still in the field of play. Martin rushed in to score the tying point at 32:23.

Clayton State responded with a quick strike from the kickoff that went over the net. The visitors also had a corner kick at 30:50, but committed a foul in the box.

Morgan Amrozowicz took GCSU’s next shot, but it was saved at 28:48.

About 10 minutes later, the Lakers were on the attack, but Emily Agi cleared a crossing pass on the run. Chloe Markey cleared another shot up close. The ball went to Amanda Dewey, who was fouled 25 yards away from the goal. Nothing came from the free kick. Nothing also came from a Clayton corner at the 9-minute mark.

It was Morgan Amrozowicz who worked the ball inside the box that Charles got to and took the decisive shot that Everett would rebound in for the 2-1 lead (7:18).

Drake saved Clayton’s final shot, which came at three minutes to go, and GCSU avoided trouble on two mistakes that gave the Lakers close free kicks. Those kicks missed their marks wide.