STATESBORO, GA – The Georgia Southern women’s soccer team showed resilience, rallying from a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 draw against Southern Miss in their final home game of the season on Sunday at Bo Pitts Field. The Eagles celebrated Senior Day with a gutsy comeback that keeps their Sun Belt Conference tournament hopes alive, with one regular-season match remaining.
Southern Miss (3-6-5, 2-2-5 SBC) opened the scoring with two first-half goals from Taylor Stewart, assisted both times by Raquelle Mitchell. Stewart netted her first in the 15th minute off a well-placed cross from Mitchell. She struck again in the 22nd minute, doubling the Golden Eagles’ lead after a forced turnover by Mitchell set up Stewart’s finish on the left side.
Trailing 2-0 at halftime, Georgia Southern (6-10-2, 3-5-1 SBC) came out strong in the second half. In the 49th minute, the Eagles cut the deficit in half when high pressure led to a Southern Miss defensive miscue. The ball deflected off goalkeeper Kesaia Bruni’s clearance and landed at the feet of Kyleigh Drew, who promptly finished to make it 2-1.
The Eagles equalized in the 63rd minute through a well-executed set piece. Maya Zovko’s corner kick found Claire Casey, who headed it inside the near post for her fourth goal of the season—all of which have come from headers off corner kicks.
Despite outshooting Southern Miss 9-5 in the second half and 16-14 overall, the Eagles were unable to capitalize on two late opportunities to secure the win. Smith Cathey’s shot in the 85th minute went wide, and Drew narrowly missed a far-post attempt in the 86th.
Georgia Southern now heads into its final match at Texas State on Thursday, aiming to secure a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Quotable:
“Very proud of our second-half effort,” head coach said. “Today was Senior Day, and that half is indicative of our senior class. At halftime, we talked about the grit and determination they’ve shown all season. Coming back from two goals down shows their GATA mentality.”
