Harrisonburg, Va. – Georgia State women’s soccer (5-9, 2-3 CAA) conceded a goal early in the first half and could not overcome the deficit, as the Panthers fell 1-0 to regionally tenth-ranked James Madison
(6-5-2, 3-2 CAA) Friday evening in Harrisonburg, Va.    

Junior forward Sarah Bennett led the team in shooting, firing three shots with one on goal. Freshman Whitney Ravan also launched a shot on goal with five other Panthers ripping shots to account for a team-total nine shots. Senior goalkeeper Kellianne Collins recorded six stops throughout 90 minutes of play to shutout the Dukes in the second half.

Bennett opened shooting for the Panthers, blasting a shot on James Madison’s goal in the 14^th minute. Unfortunately, the opposing goalkeeper came up with the save to deny Bennett the opening score. Ravan followed up Bennett’s shot less than two minutes later with her own shot on goal but the keeper once again kept the Panthers from getting on the board.

“The game was very much a typical CAA battle,” said head coach Domenic Martelli. “The girls played hard. It was a very fast game. We had better play in the second half. We came out and created a lot of chances while limiting theirs. In the end, it was just an opportunity that got away from us.”

James Madison tallied the first score of the match with a goal from Lauren Wilson at the 17:33 minute mark. Eryka Hawkins and Erinique Owens each got shots off in the remaining minutes of the first half but neither found the back of the net as Georgia State entered halftime down by one.

Georgia State came out strong after the break, firing four early shots. To complement the offense’s durable play, the Panther defense stayed solid, limiting the Dukes to only four second-half shots.  Albeit one final shot from Bennett, Georgia State could not find the equalizer and James Madison secured the 1-0 victory.

“We have to come out hard Sunday with the momentum we played in the second half,” commented Martelli. “We have to go out and get after it to come away with some points this weekend. Right now, there is nothing more important to us than Sunday’s game against VCU.”

Georgia State women’s soccer continues its Virginia road trip Sunday as the team travels to Richmond to take on VCU at 1 p.m. Fans can follow the action via live stats at www.GeorgiaStateSports.com. A full recap and statistics will be available on the website following the completion of Sunday’s match.

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