Georgia Gwinnett College men's soccer opens NAIA tournament with shutout win
Nov. 18—LAWRENCEVILLE — The Georgia Gwinnett College men's soccer team scored twice within a four-minute span of the first half to defeat Vanguard University (Calif.) 2-0 Thursday afternoon in first-round action of the 2022 NAIA Men's Soccer Lawrenceville Bracket at the Grizzly Soccer Complex.
Junior Diego Milessi found the back of the net in the 17th minute following quick passes from seniors Karim Tmimi and Aleksandar Racanovic. Tmimi's pass to the top of the 18-yard box allowed Milessi to drill the shot with his right foot into the lower left corner of the goal. It was his fourth goal of the season.
A few minutes later, senior Thomas Herwig sent a ball back to the box after a Vanguard defender cleared the ball to the midfield. The ball sailed over the last line of defenders, where senior Juan Cruz Parisi Sitjar sprinted to the ball before Vanguard goalkeeper Edwin Monterrosa. Parisi Sitjar proceeded to head the ball into the open net in the 21st minute to double GGC's lead.
The Grizzlies (13-2-2) controlled the pace of play throughout the first half, having an 8-3 shot advantage and attempting five corner kicks.
Vanguard (11-4-3) came back strong in the second half, registering six shots over the final 45 minutes in search of a goal. However, GGC freshman goalkeeper Andreas von Muecke and the team's senior defensive line of Gianmaria Fiore, Racanovic and Herwig limited the visitors to just four shots on goal. Muecke made three of his four saves in the second half to post the shutout.
Milessi led the Grizzlies' 12-shot offensive attack with three shots, while Parisi Sitjar had two shots in the victory.
With Thursday's victory Georgia Gwinnett College advances to the bracket's championship match on Saturday, November 19, against No. 2 seed Columbia College (Missouri), from the Grizzly Soccer Complex, starting at 2 p.m. That match winner will be one of 10 teams advancing to the NAIA National Championship final site.
"We came out well with an early shot," GGC head coach Steve DeCou said. "Juan Cruz gambled on that play as he was basically the only one on the field who kept playing. You're going to get every team's best shot in the second half of postseason play, and that's what Vanguard gave us. Andreas had a strong performance in goal. It was a great start in the tournament and we happy to get to continue playing on Saturday."
