Wingate Eliminated in NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The fourth-seeded Saints of North Georgia College and State University defeated the fifth-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs 3-1 in quarterfinal action of the 2011 NCAA Division II Southeast Regionals Friday afternoon on the campus of Armstrong Atlantic State University. The Saints improve to 16-2-1 overall, while Wingate completes its season at 16-4 overall.

"I could not be more proud of the team for the effort and attitude towards this game," Wingate head coach Gary Curneen says. "We dealt with the setback of going down to 10 (players), but thought we still could have gotten something out of the game. Give credit to North Georgia for using the numerical advantag -- we wish them all the best."

North Georgia got on the board 8:50 into the contest, when sophomore midfielder Carolina Wallace (Watkinsville, Ga.) netted her sixth goal of the year from assists from junior forward Abby Trevino (Athens, Ga.) and junior defender Melanie Thompson (Snellville, Ga.). The Peach Belt Conference members took the 1-0 advantage to the halftime locker room. The team stats were even in the opening half, with each team taking six shots. North Georgia held a 3-2 advantage in shots on goal in the opening frame.

The Bulldogs evened the score early in the second frame, when junior midfielder Izabella Miranda (Plymouth, Mass.) ripped one from 20-plus yards out, scoring her fourth goal of the year to make the score 1-1. The momentum would shift less than a minute later, when Wingate junior goalkeeper Miriam Boucher (Calgary, Alberta) came out of the box to make a save and was called for a handball. She was given a red card, leaving Wingate a man-down for the remainder of the contest.

The Saints would take the lead with just under 22 minutes remaining in regulation, when senior midfielder Natalie Douglass (Lawrenceville, Ga.) scored her fifth goal of the season to make the margin 2-1. The goal came resulted from a corner kick by junior defender Taylor Lee (McDonough, Ga.). North Georgia struck again with 13 remaining when a cross from Wallace found freshman midfielder Cicely Taliaferro (Marietta, Ga.), who netted her first goal of the year to make the final tally 3-1.

North Georgia out-shot Wingate 18-15 on the day, while each team took nine shots on goal. Senior goalkeeper Kirsten Ross (Lilburn, Ga.) had eight saves for the Saints. Boucher had two saves for the Bulldogs, while freshman Ashlyn Hardie (Summerfield, N.C.) added four saves for Wingate.

- Courtesy Wingate Media Relations