MATCH #19
WHO: ODU (11-2-5) vs. Georgia Southern (9-4-6)
WHERE: Sun Belt Conference Semifinals – Foley, Alabama
WHEN: 5 p.m. ET - Friday
SERIES RECORD: series tied 1-1
REGULAR SEASON MEETING: Sept. 24 – ODU 2, Ga. Southern 1
STREAM: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: here
FOLEY, Ala. -- The Old Dominion women's soccer team will tangle with the Georgia Southern Eagles on Friday at 5 p.m. ET in the first semifinal match at the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Foley Sports Complex.
ODU advanced with a 1-0 win over Georgia State on Wednesday afternoon as freshman Ashlynn Kulha scored in the 84th minute off a corner kick from Anna Torslov. The Monarchs held the Panthers to one shot in the contest as Emily Bredek recorded her 11th shutout of the season.
Georgia Southern made the semifinals with a 4-3 win in penalty kicks over ULM after tying 1-1 in regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods.
This will be the third meeting between the schools with each winning on the other teams field. Georgia Southern defeated ODU 1-0 on Sept. 25, 2022 in Norfolk, while ODU took a 2-1 decision on Sept. 24, 2023 on the road. Megan Watts provided the game-winner in the 66th minute for the Monarchs.
ABOUT ODU
Ece Turkoglu leads the Monarchs in goals scored with five and points with 11 adding one assist to her total. Megan Watts has five goals on the year for 10 points, with Torslov following her in points scored with seven adding three goals and one assist. Watts has three game winning goals and had the game-tying goal with 94 seconds left in the regular season finale at ULM on October 26.
Aleigha Arndt leads the team with three assists, while Torslov, Andrea Balcazar Algarin and Madison Micheletti have a pair of assists each.
In the net, Bredek has a goals against average of 0.395 to rank second nationally and is third nationally in shutouts after her school record 11th on Wednesday. As a team, the Monarchs are second nationally in goals against average at 0.389 and ninth in shutout percentage at .667.
All seven goals allowed by ODU this season have occurred in the second half. In the first half ODU has outscored opponents 6-0.
Watts' 20 career goals puts her tied for eighth on the all-time list, while her 46 career points puts her just outside the top 10 in 11th place.
The shutout win in the quarterfinals was the 12th on the season for the Monarchs which ties the 2008 team for the most in school history.
ABOUT GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Georgia Southern is unbeaten in its last eight matches (7-0-1) after a three-match losing skid to start conference play, including a 2-1 loss to ODU on September 24. Simone Timm leads the Panthers with eight goals and five assists for 21 points, while Bri Conley has seven goals and five assists for 19 points.
Quinn Wilson leads the Panthers in goal with a 1.13 goals against average, an .800 save percentage with a record of 10-5-1.
NEXT UP
A win will put the Monarchs in the Sun Belt Championship match against the winner of the second semifinal between top-seeded South Alabama and fifth-seeded JMU on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. ODU defeated JMU in last year's title match and eliminated South Alabama via penalty kicks in the semifinals.
Women's Soccer Takes On Georgia Southern In Friday Semifinal
Andrea Balcazar Algarin