A lone goal from senior midfielder Mallie McKenzie powered the University of Georgia soccer team to a 1-0 victory over North Florida Thursday evening at the Turner Soccer Complex in front of a crowd of 482.
Coming off a 7-0 win over Kennesaw State on Sept. 4, McKenzie’s goal in the 18th minute proved to be the only score out of Georgia’s (5-2) 17 shots on the night. The Bulldogs outshot the Ospreys (1-3) by a 17-6 margin with a 4-2 shot on goal advantage.
Sophomore goalkeeper Liz Beardsley tallied her fourth consecutive shutout, the sixth of her season. Beardsley posted two saves in the 90 minutes of play. On the defensive end, the Bulldogs’ backline allowed only one corner kick, coming in the second half. Georgia has now posted four straight clean sheets for the first time since 2013.
“To be fair, all credit to North Florida,” Georgia head coach Keidane McAlpine said following the match. “They brought the fight today. Their energy and aggression were fantastic, and we just didn’t match that intensity. We found the moment where we scored, and we probably could’ve had one or two more if we had had a little more composure. All in all, I thought that we just weren’t as sharp as we needed to be, but this was the exact kind of game we needed as we prepare for SEC play.”
In the first half, Georgia outshot UNF, 11-1, but kept the Ospreys from taking a shot on frame. In the 18th minute, junior midfielder Dasia Torbert found the ball at the top of the keeper’s box and connected with McKenzie, who outworked a defender before sending a shot past UNF’s diving keeper to score the only goal of the match.
The Ospreys played a more offensive second half as the Bulldogs only outshot UNF by a 6-5 margin. Both of UNF’s shots on goal came in the second half, but Beardsley kept the board blank for the Ospreys.
Georgia continues their weekend home stand with a match against South Florida on Sept. 11 at 1 p.m. This match will be Senior Day for the Bulldogs. The match will be streamed on SEC Network+.
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