CARROLLTON, Ga. – Three freshmen scored goals, and the Wolves pitched a second consecutive shutout on Friday as the UWG soccer team opened GSC play with a 3-0 win over Spring Hill.
 
West Georgia (3-1, 1-0 GSC) got off to a slow start against the Badgers (0-7, 0-3 GSC), but after a late first half goal, the Wolves dialed up the defensive pressure in the second half, all while adding two goals.
 
The defensive effort did not allow Spring Hill a single shot in the second half, and notched the first back-to-back shutouts since 2016 for the Wolves.
 
"I don't think the defense liked that they left themselves open too much in the first half," said head coach Stacey Balaam. "We talked about that at halftime, and they felt a little more in control in the second half and pinned them in their half of the field and pressed the ball a little higher."
 
As for the offense, freshman Janet Hartman got the scoring started in the 41^st minute, flicking a header past the Spring hill goalie for her first career goal. Cassidi Thomas and Lauren O'Neill each earned assists on Hartman's score. It was the eighth career assist for Thomas and the first for O'Neill.
 
In the second half, UWG got a goal in the 51^st minute from freshman Jayden Boswell who now has two goals in her last two games, tying her for the team lead in goals. In the 79^th, Kaylah Nichols made it a trio of freshmen goal scorers as she scored on a rebound, accounting for the final margin.
 
"I'm really proud of the impact the freshmen made," added Balaam. "The response from them was what we needed because we started slow and came out flat. Thankfully the freshmen stepped up and Janet came up big with that goal going into halftime."
 
West Georgia has now scored seven goals in their last two games, all while keeping their opposition out of the net, and the Wolves will need that going into Sunday as they continue GSC play by hosting the ninth-ranked West Florida Argonauts.
 
"The goals have been nice, obviously that gives the kids some confidence in front of goal," said Balaam. "But now we've got to do our homework on West Florida. It's a quick turnaround, so we've got to just enjoy this one for a minute and then it's back to business."
 
Sunday's game with West Florida is a special day as it is Trevor's Game. The Wolves will honor Trevor Shinall, a leukemia survivor and brother of UWG soccer play Ally Shinall, on Sunday as part of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. To read more on Trevor's story, click here.
 
Kickoff on Sunday is slated for 1 p.m. from University Soccer Field.