ATHENS, Ga. --- The Georgia soccer team opened its 2014 home schedule on Sunday afternoon with a 3-0 shutout victory over UNC Greensboro in front of 2,054 fans at the UGA Soccer Stadium. The Bulldogs got the game-winner from sophomore Marion Crowder in her first game back following off-season ACL surgery.

The win pushes Georgia to 1-0-1 on the early season, while UNCG falls to 0-2. Georgia’s goals – all three in the second half – came from Crowder, Gabby Seiler, and Bria Washington, with Washington’s score marking the first of her career. Freshman goalkeeper Louise Hogrell recorded the blank sheet on the strength of five saves.

The Bulldogs wrap up their opening weekend with the victory following Friday night’s 1-1 tie at Ole Miss.

“It feels great – what an incredible crowd and a fantastic environment,” said head coach Steve Holeman. “It was difficult playing on the road on Friday night and back at home today – we actually had to travel further than UNCG to get back here, so we knew it wouldn’t have the same emotion and intensity as Friday’s game. But the girls responded incredibly well, came out and played a great game.”

“We put a lot of pressure on UNCG in the first half, and even though it was 0-0 we felt like a goal was coming,” Holeman said. “We talked to the girls at halftime and said that once they got one, Nos. 2 and 3 would come. We just needed someone to break it open, and who better to do that than Marion Crowder. I am so incredibly proud of Marion after six months of extremely hard work to get back. She came into my office this morning knowing this would be the day, and she had the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. She knew she’d only get those 10 minutes or so, and she wanted more, we told her, ‘Hey, you’ll just have to get it done in that amount of time.’ And she did.”

Following a scoreless first frame in which Georgia out-shot the Spartans 12-2 but without finding the back of the net, it was Crowder who would put Georgia on top with her first goal of 2014 in the 63^rd minute. The play began with a strong tackle from Seiler, who flicked it ahead to Crowder, and after a couple touches the sophomore fired it into the bottom corner to give the Bulldogs the 1-0 lead.

Seiler would make it 2-0 in the 70^th minute after she was awarded a penalty kick and converted, and Washington’s tally in the 76^th minute pushed the lead to 3-0 as she finished off an assist from freshman Shayna Raekelboom inside the far post.

The Bulldogs ended leading in the shot column, 23-6, and taking nine corner kicks to UNCG’s one. Seiler and Washington led Georgia with five shots each, while Rachel Garcia took four.

Today Georgia improves to 4-1 all-time vs. UNC Greensboro in the series.

Next up for the Bulldogs is a West Coast trip as the squad heads to take on Long Beach State and Cal State-Fullerton Aug. 29-31. Live audio coverage and the Georgia Soccer Live Blog will be available for both contests on Georgiadogs.com.

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