Georgia soccer is headed to the SEC Championship for the first time in 15 years.
In an overtime thriller against Texas A&M, the Bulldogs came out victorious with a 3-2 win over the Aggies after a miraculous goal by USC graduate transfer Croix Bethune with less than 30 seconds remaining.
This marks the fourth SEC Championship appearance for Georgia — the last appearance was in 2008 — and possibly the first SEC Championship in program history, if the Bulldogs emerge victorious. However, their road to the tournament final was not easy.
In the first 10-minute period of overtime, the Bulldogs found a prime goal opportunity from a ball stolen by defender Madison Haugen. Haugen connected with Bethune, who then connected with fellow graduate USC transfer Hannah White. White easily found a hole in the defense at the 18”, as the forward put it away for a 2-1 lead for the Bulldogs.
Georgia played cautiously, as the team worked to wind down the clock. Georgia escaped the first overtime period with a 2-1 lead, but Texas A&M roared back and kept the pressure on. Sophomore goalkeeper Jordan Brown, who was an influential piece of Georgia’s defense all game, had to step up big for Georgia.
Defender Jessie Dunn committed a foul in the box, which gave Texas A&M a goal-kick opportunity. Brown made what appeared to be an impressive save, but jumped forward ahead of the goal line before the ball was kicked, which gave Texas A&M another opportunity. Instead, the Aggies’ kick went wide right, but they did find some luck when a corner kick set up a tying goal from Jazmine Wilkinson that ricocheted off of an Aggie into the net.
Though the game seemed to be leading to a penalty kick shootout for the tiebreaker, a foul called on a Texas A&M player gave the Bulldogs an opportunity for a free kick. A free kick from midfielder Nicole Vernis and a deflection from forward Tori Penn set up Bethune perfectly. With only 27 seconds remaining, Bethune’s one-touch shot to the left corner solidified the win for the Bulldogs.
Unlike Georgia’s aggressiveness in overtime, the first half saw the Aggies offense striking quickly with two corner kick opportunities in the span of eight minutes. While Georgia recovered soon after and overpowered the Aggies to possession-wise, Texas A&M earned a breakaway shot, and put the Bulldogs down 1-0 at half.
Georgia emerged from the locker room hungry for an equalizing goal in the second half. Around ten minutes later, a handball in the box for the Aggies set up Vernis for the penalty shot. This marked Vernis’s third penalty, and a quick shot to the top left corner left the Bulldogs and Aggies tied 1-1.
Brown’s ability to keep the Aggies at bay was key for the Bulldogs, as despite the team being outshot 27-16, Brown kept Georgia in the game and set a new career high of 11 saves by the end of overtime. Brown, this time last year, lost Georgia the game against South Carolina in the Semifinals in penalty kicks. However, between her efforts and the overall offensive efforts of the team, the Bulldogs are headed to the championship.
This semifinal match brought about new records for the Bulldogs, both as a team and individually. The last overtime win at the SEC Tournament for Georgia was 13 years ago against Auburn in 2010, and the last regular season overtime win was in 2021 against LSU in Baton Rouge. Graduate midfielder Mallie McKenzie also now owns the record for most appearances in program history with 94.
The championship match is set for Sunday, with a 2 p.m. kickoff. The No. 2 seeded Bulldogs will face No. 1 seeded Arkansas, who they lost to by a narrow margin of 2-1 earlier in the season.
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