DEMOREST, Ga. – Piedmont women’s soccer rallied past Belhaven for a 2-1 victory on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon in Demorest.
Molly Fitzpatrick continued her fantastic run of goal scoring, converting the game-winner in the 73rd minute.
Huge win over Belhaven at the WAC!
Women’s soccer wins 2-1 behind the game winner from Molly Fitzpatrick to move to 4-0 in the CCS! pic.twitter.com/gMjjgyL7bu
— Piedmont Women’s Soccer (@PiedmontWSOC) October 10, 2024
Freshman Madison Johnson made her first start of the season in goal, earning the victory with four saves.
The win marks Piedmont’s first in three tries since the Blazers joined the CCS before the 2022 season.
Piedmont wasted no time jumping on Belhaven from the start, converting off a corner kick as Sierra Judson was able to corral a loose ball in the box and feed it to Paige Kluba, who finished low right and past the keeper.
6’ | Corner kick ——> GOAL!
Piedmont 1, Belhaven 0 pic.twitter.com/tCdH3hGZgA
— Piedmont Women’s Soccer (@PiedmontWSOC) October 9, 2024
However, the lead was short lived, as the Blazers equalized just over two minutes later.
The two teams battled back and forth throughout the remainder of the first half, with possession relatively equal. The Blazers did have a 7-3 edge in shots but the Lions held a 3-2 advantage in corner kicks, including the one that created the goal by Kluba.
Second half action saw more of the same, with both defenses standing tall.
That was until freshman Addi Banks forced a turnover in the Belhaven defensive zone and fed a cross into the middle of the box. Fitzpatrick then won a battle with the goalkeeper and forced the ball into the back of the net for the eventual game winner.
73’ | Molly Fitzpatrick off the assist from Addi Banks and the Lions take the lead! 🤩
Piedmont 2, Belhaven 1 pic.twitter.com/FF4MB45aSF
— Piedmont Women’s Soccer (@PiedmontWSOC) October 9, 2024
Piedmont held on in the final 15+ minutes, with Johnson making a big save in the 86th minute to keep the Lions in front.
Up next, Piedmont will look to continue the momentum, with a road trip to Asbury next Thursday, October 17 at 12 p.m.
TURNING POINT:
– Fitzpatrick has now scored five goals to lead the team, all of which have come in conference play.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
– Banks was excellent all day in the midfield, and eventually created the game winner.
– Johnson stood tall in goal in her first career start, with four saves.
– Kluba has now scored in three of her last four games.
