BARNESVILLE, Ga. - Gordon State Women's Soccer will make their long-awaited debut for the 2020-21 season -- seven months after the season was to have originally begun and 17 months since the last official contest on November 7, 2019.
COVID-19 shut down all college sports on March 13, 2020 as GSC was working through its spring conditioning. That was followed by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) postponing the soccer season from the fall of 2020 to the spring of 2021.
So here we are as GSC begins a shortened 10-game regular season that features eight Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) games vs. Andrew College, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC), South Georgia State College and Georgia Military College.
GSC will also play home non-conference contests against Spartanburg Methodist College (S.C.) and the University of South Carolina Salkehatchie.
GSC was on the field this past Monday as the Highlanders played host to the Point University (Ga.) reserve team in a preseason friendly. But now the regular season officially begins as Andrew College (Ga.) comes to town to begin 2020-21 season with a Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) game on Friday, April 2 at 6 p.m.
GSC finished the 2019 season with an overall mark of 16-3-2 and 10-0-2 in the GCAA as the Highlanders claimed the regular-season title and postseason championship, which concluded with a 1-0 win over Georgia Military College.
GSC eventually lost 5-0 to Eastern Florida State in the NJCAA Southeast Regional semifinal, but it didn't erase the success of a team that shut out six straight teams on track to the regular season and conference tournament crowns.
"It's been a difficult road getting to this season and we have lost some important players," GSC head coach Scott Henderson said. "We have been hit particularly hard on the defensive side. With that said, our goals and expectations don't change."
The Highlanders will count on a pair of goalkeepers, freshman Mallory McCarthney (Griffin, Ga. / Spalding HS) and sophomore Becca Doyle (Acworth, Ga. / Harrison HS) to stymie their opponents this season.
In front of this duo, Gordon State will count on sophomore Jasmine O'Hara (Hollywood, Fla. / Cooper City HS) and a handful of freshmen in Haley Reid (Griffin, Ga. / Spalding HS), Lizzy Grant (Sharpsburg, Ga. / North Gate HS), Lourdes Tompkins (Stephens, Ga. / Oglethorpe Co. HS) and Payton Asher (Cape Coral, Fla. / Ida S. Baker HS) to anchor the defense.
Stephanie Hahn (Dallas, Ga. / Paulding Co. HS) will be missed as she sits out the season due to injury.
Freshmen Aniah Rasool (Ruskin, Fla. / Lennard HS), Audrey Pavik (Kennesaw, Ga. / Harrison HS), Molly Worst (Brooks, Ga. / Whitewater HS), Sara Schultz (Villa Rica, Ga. / Alexander HS) and sophomores Isabella Reyes (Port Charlotte, Fla. / Port Charlotte HS) and Keerston Hambrick will provide the balance for the midfield as the Highlanders look to take control of their games.
The attack will flow through a group of dynamic playmakers that includes sophomore Gabriela Arellano (Miami, Fla. / John A. Ferguson Sr. HS) and freshmen Bailey Arnold (Bethlehem, Ga. / Apalachee HS), Emma Lovell,(Tavernier, Fla. / Coral Shores HS), Madison Schmucker, (Cape Coral, Fla. / Ida S. Baker HS) and Sophia Kotopka (Riverview, Fla. / East Bay HS).
"This is probably the most dynamic attacking team we have ever had here at Gordon State," Henderson said.
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The Gordon State College Department of Athletics is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA). Gordon State College competes in NJCAA Division I in the sports of Women's Soccer (Fall), Men's Basketball (Fall/Spring), Softball (Spring) and Baseball (Spring). Gordon State College is located in Barnesville, Ga., approximately 60 miles south of Atlanta and 35 miles northwest of Macon. Gordon State College offers both two-year and four-year degree programs and believes that our Athletics program provides student-athletes with the opportunity to be successful academically, athletically and in life after their time as a Highlander. Follow GSC Athletics at www.gscathletics.com, on Facebook (@Gordon State Highlanders) and Twitter (@state_ad / GordonStateAD). You can also follow Gordon State College on Facebook (@GordonStateCollege #GSCHighlandersForward), Twitter (@GordonState) and Instagram (gordon_state).