ATHENS, Ga. - The South Carolina women's soccer team (7-1-1) took its first loss of the season tonight, falling 2-0 to Georgia (8-1-0) at UGA Soccer Stadium despite holding a 17-9 shot advantage and maintaining possession for much of the match. 

"Obviously we had better chances, better possession, but unfortunately, soccer can be a cruel game, but it matters if you put the ball in the back of the net," South Carolina head coach Shelley Smith said. "I think we obviously needed to finish our chances. The good thing is that we outplayed Georgia for the most part. Credit Georgia for taking care of the chances that they did have. They're very dangerous in the offensive third. They're a good team and I was very proud of the girls with the way they played and were able to keep possession against them and put ourselves in chances to score goals"

Midfielder Chelsea Drennan led a strong Gamecock attack early as the freshman put the team's first shot on frame less than a minute into the match before missing just wide of the right post on an attempt from the top of the 18 in the sixth minute.   

Georgia took a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute as the Bulldogs broke down the right flank. Senior midfielder Madeline Barker sent in a low cross from the right side of the box that junior keeper Sabrina D'Angelo couldn't get a handle on as it got by her and found freshman forward Marion Crowder who tapped it into the right corner for her seventh goal of the season.

The Bulldogs doubled the lead with just over 13 minutes remaining in the first half as redshirt senior midfielder Laura Eddy corralled the ball at the top of the 18-yard box and hit a low, hard shot toward the left post passed a diving D'Angelo.

Despite the scoreline, the Gamecocks maintained possession for much of the half and held an 8-4 shot edge, but Georgia was able to capitalize on its only two shots on goal of the first 45 minutes.    

The second half was much of the same, as Carolina came out the aggressor, possessed and looked for their chances while Georgia opted to absorb and counter. Freshman forward Sophie Groff nearly got one back for the Gamecocks in the 53^rd minute as she took a big shot from 35 yards out to the right side, but Georgia keeper Caitlin Woody laid out to make a diving stop. 

In the 76^th minute, senior forward Danielle Au sent in a corner to redshirt junior defender Taylor Leach who put a header on frame, but Woody was again there to knock ball away before junior defender Christa Neary put the rebound attempt over the bar.

The Garnet and Black continued to push the pace late into the game, looking to strike, but were unable to find the back of the net. Aside from holding a decided advantage in possession, the Gamecocks held a 17-9 edge in shots, while leading 7-4 in shots on goal.   

The Gamecocks will look to rebound next week as they host Auburn on Aug. 27. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET at Stone Stadium.

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