ATHENS, GA.--- Georgia State women’s soccer fell 3-0 to Georgia, the 15th-ranked team in the nation. The loss drops the Panthers to 4-1-0 on the year.

“We made some mistakes,” said Georgia State head coach Domenic Martelli, “but when we did things correctly, the game looked entirely different. Georgia played an incredible first half. Once we got into the mode of weathering the storm, we were able to do some things really well.”

Georgia State played tough through the opening minutes, getting one of their best chances of the game on a counterstrike off of the opening kick.

Sophomore Erinique Owens attacked the kickoff giving junior Apryl Goodwin a chance to steal the second pass of the game. Goodwin made a run on the Georgia defense, earning a corner kick for the Panthers.

Sophomore Lindsay Mortellaro sent the corner to freshman Sarah Bennett who headed the ball to the far post beyond the Georgia goalkeeper. Unfortunately, two Georgia defenders were able to corral the ball away from the Panthers and survive the attack.

The Panther defense held Georgia scoreless for 12 minutes, denying several scoring chances. Junior Heidi Blankenship made a sliding save to take the ball off of the foot of an oncoming Bulldog, refusing a one-on-one opportunity.

The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute when Jamie Pollock won the ball away from two Georgia State defenders in the box and finished with a goal on the left side.

Georgia extended the lead in the 19th minute when a corner kick went to Lauren Glancy who crossed the ball to Ashley Miller on the far-post for a header to put the Bulldogs up 2-0.

Just before the end of the first half, senior Kari Quinn launched a deep shot that glanced off the glove of Georgia goalkeeper Michelle Betos and hit the crossbar.

“Kari took a shot that any other keeper in the nation wouldn’t have been able to stop,” said Martelli. “She made a great play on the ball, and it came down to inches between 2-0 and 2-1.”

Georgia State played an improved game in the second half, keeping Georgia scoreless for the first 27 minutes. Carrie Patterson would score the third goal of the game in the 72nd minute on a penalty kick.

“We played a great second half,” said Martelli. “We got another good chance on Emily [Dover]’s breakaway, but just couldn’t convert, which would have made it 2-1, again. We played much better. I think it took us a little time to adjust to playing at such a high speed.”

Heidi Blankenship finished the game with three saves, bringing her within 25 of fourth place on the Panthers’ all-time list.

Georgia improves to 5-0-1 on the year with the win.

Georgia State now turns their attention to another in-state rival, Georgia Southern, coming to Atlanta for the Panthers’ home-opener Sunday, September 13 at 1 p.m. Live stats for the contest will be available at www.GeorgiaStateSports.com.