CARROLLTON, Ga. - After a hard fought and back-and-forth 90 minutes on University Field, the University of West Georgia soccer team equalized the game late to earn a crucial point in the Gulf South Conference standings with a 2-2 draw against the 13th-ranked Lee Flames on Friday night.
After the first 45 minutes, it was still tied at zero on the scoreboard, but not from a lack of effort from either side. Both teams put five shots up in the half, with the Wolves having three on goal to the Flames one. West Georgia also dominated the corner kicks category four to zero.
In the second half, however, the pace picked up ten fold. Hillary Resendiz got the Wolves on the board in the 51st minute with a header on a cross from Delaney Kewin to give UWG a 1-0 lead late in the match.
"We feel like we came out at halftime and dominated the first half of the half at least," said head coach Stacey Balaam. "There were a few things that we stopped doing well after we scored that first goal, and it led to them converting two quick goals, and then all of a sudden they found themselves in the lead," added Balaam.
Just five minutes later, in the 56th minute, Lee had found their equalizer off the right foot of Kate Dirkse. Ashley Eulo found the net just two minutes later, and just as quickly as they fell behind, Lee took a 2-1 lead.
The Wolves did not lay down and give up, as Janaisia Smith, who broke the West Georgia record for matches started in a career, found the back of the net in the 82nd minute from outside the box to equalize the game at two a piece.
"I'm just so proud of Janaisia to do it on a memorable day for her. And it's also a credit to the girls for showing their grit and resilience to stay competitive in the game" said Balaam.
The Flames would get several opportunities late to cash in a game winner, but were unsuccessful, and the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
"At the end of the day, we've never played Lee that close and gone toe-to-toe with them. You look at it before the game and a tie would be a positive result, but then it's also disappointing that we lost the lead and we had to rescue the game after that," said Balaam.
West Georgia finished the match with nine shots and five were on target, while the Flames finished with 14 shots, but only had five on goal. The Wolves also finished with eight corner kicks to the Flames three.
West Georgia will now have a quick turnaround as they face the Shorter Hawks on Sunday afternoon at University Field in Carrollton, GA. Kickoff is set for 1p.m.
