Georgia Bulldog soccer beats Vandy, claims player of the week, ascends national polls
The Georgia Bulldog soccer team scored a good news hat trick for play this past weekend.
First, on Sunday afternoon the Georgia Bulldog soccer team used three second-half goals – including two from sophomore Marion Crowder – to earn a 3-1 come-from-behind victory over Vanderbilt in Athens. Entering the game ranked 24, the win puts the Bulldog record at 6 -1 -1 and 1 – 0 – 1 in conference play.
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Head coach Steve Holeman spoke to Georgiadogs.com. “They outplayed us, they outworked us, and they were better on all sides of the ball in the first half. They deserved to be up a goal. They could’ve been up two at half. We knew we had to make adjustments, and the team responded incredibly well. It was nice to come from behind.”
The win is Georgia’s fifth straight and is the first come from behind win since 2011. It was the first time this season the Bulldogs allowed a goal in the first half and failed to score first in a contest.
Second, on Monday, the Dawgs found themselves ranked 13 in the first edition of the NCAA’s Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) report released Monday evening.
The RPI is one of the tools used by the selection committee to determine the 64-team field for the NCAA Tournament, ranking teams based on wins and losses as well as strength of schedule. Thirteen is the Bulldogs’ highest RPI since they were No. 9 late in the 2009 season, on their way to an NCAA second-round run.
Also, the Bulldogs climbed from 24 to 22 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll – recognized by the NCAA as the official ranking system for women’s soccer. Georgia is ranked 21 in both the Soccer America and TopDrawerSoccer.com polls this week, and 25 according by College Sports Madness.
And third, Marion Crowder was rewarded for her two-tally weekend performance when she was named the College Sports Madness Southeastern Conference Player of the Week. The Madison, MS native returned to the field Aug. 24 following off-season ACL surgery to post multiple goals in back-to-back games, the first Georgia player to accomplish that feat since 2011.
Crowder’s five goals and one assist on the season are good for 11 points, second most on the team, while her pair of game-winning goals rank tied for most.