LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.— The Montreat women's soccer team traveled to Georgia on Saturday for a road matchup with the Georgia Gwinnett College Grizzlies, who are receiving votes in the latest version of the NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll. Despite a hard-fought battle, the Cavaliers fell 3-0 to begin the 2022 season with an 0-1 record.
 
Georgia Gwinnett (2-0-2) had threatening chances early as both teams settled into the contest. Within the first six minutes of the game, Logan White came up with a pair of saves on dangerous GGC opportunities in the box.
 
Following a couple of corner kicks from the home team, Montreat strung together a series of possessions midway through the first half but couldn't produce any shots from during the span.
 
A third stop from White capped off the initial few minutes; however, a stunning strike from the Grizzlies put the Cavaliers behind in the 24^th minute as a giveaway in the defensive half created space for a rocket into the upper right corner from 25 yards out.
 
Georgia Gwinnett controlled much of the remainder of the opening period, despite a shot from long range off the boot of Isabel Aguilar in the 41^st minute. In the first 45, GGC held an 8-1 advantage in shots and a 5-0 edge in corner kicks, while White captained both squads with four saves, including a diving stop late to keep the Cavs' deficit at one heading into halftime.
 
Just 2:39 into the second half, the Grizzlies doubled their lead on a through ball that was polished past White in a 1-v-1 situation. Though the Cavaliers trailed by two, the visitors earned their first corner kick moments later and White notched another save in the 54^th minute.
 
Another beautiful shot curled under the bar for GGC as the home side went up 3-0 in the 67^th minute. White kept Montreat within striking distance thanks to her eight saves in net on the day, but the Cavs failed to muster offensive chances, which led to the shutout.
 
"I was proud of how our team battled today," said head coach Kristin Eggert. "There were a couple moments of breakdown that a quality opponent exploited. We generated some quality chances and will be looking to see how we can finish those moving forward."
 
Overall, the Cavaliers recorded three shots and took a pair of corners compared to GGC's 19 shots and eight set pieces from the goal line.
 
Women's soccer is back in action for its home opener against No. 19 Truett McConnell University next Saturday, Sept. 10.