The University of Georgia women’s soccer team defeated 21st ranked Tennessee 2-0 in the semi-finals of the 2022 Southeastern Conference Soccer Tournament.
Tuesday’s win is the first time Georgia (12-5-2, 5-3-2 SEC)) has moved on in the tournament since 2014, and its first victory in the tournament since 2010. It also marked the program’s first postseason victory over Tennessee (11-5-2, 7-2-1 SEC) after three previous matches.
Georgia was outshot 15-11 and were also outshot 6-5 in shots on frame. The shutout was freshman goalkeeper Jordan Brown fourth shutout in five starts, getting six saves total in the game.
Tennessee opened the match with heavy pressure, forcing Brown to make three saves just in the first seven minutes of the game. It was the Bulldogs however that struck first with graduate forward Dani Murguia with a goal in the 20th minute. Georgia improved to 12-0 in the season when scoring first. Georgia would add another in the form of a Tori Penn goal in the 34th minute, as they would hold on for the victory.
"It was a massive win," said Georgia head coach Keidane McAlpine. "We had to weather that first bit of pressure from Tennessee – they're a fantastic team and the energy they brought was good. I thought we were a little nervous to start the game, but once we settled in and Dani hit that goal against the run of play, we settled in, and we executed some of the things we were trying to accomplish, and we scored two goals. I'm extremely proud of the way they fought through the moments of the game and found a way to win."
Georgia moves on to face the second seeded and 13th ranked South Carolina (12-3-4, 6-3-1 SEC) on Thursday November 3rd. The game will be televised on SEC Network and is slated to start at 8:30. Georgia lost its previous match to the Gamecocks 1-0 earlier this season and will be the sixth tournament meeting between the schools. Carolina leads the post season series 2-3.