MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Offense was at a premium in Friday's South Region Championship game between the University of West Florida and Barry University, and
Georgia Bailey's first goal of the season came at the perfect time. The junior from St. Catherine, Jamaica, crushed a header off a corner kick from
Kaljit Atwal and gave UWF a 1-0 win.
West Florida has now won the South Region title six times, the last of which came in 2013 when the Argonauts reached the NCAA Championship Final and finished as national runners-up. The Argonauts improved to 19-4 on the year with the victory.
"I knew we had quality in this year's team," head coach
Joe Bartlinski said. "The players were prepared, and they've worked hard throughout the season, and even after minor setbacks they got focused. I'm proud of our conference and proud of our team and how hard they've worked."
The game-winner was the third goal of Bailey's career, and all three have come in postseason play. As a freshman, she found the net in a Gulf South Conference Tournament semifinal against Valdosta State, and her goal as a sophomore came in a GSC Tournament semifinal against Lee. That second goal came with just six seconds left in regulation and sent UWF into overtime.
West Florida outshot Barry 13-7, with six shots on goal compared to the Bucs' two. The Argonauts seemed to dominate possession for much of the game, as shown by their 11-3 corner kick advantage. Top Barry point-scorer Carissa Sanchez was held shotless in her 77 minutes of play, marking the 10th time in UWF's last 11 games that the Argo defense has held the opposition's top point-scorer without a shot.
The game continued a hot streak for UWF that dates back to the start of October. Since the North Alabama game on October 2, UWF is 13-1 and has outscored opponents 36-2, which includes a perfect 5-0 mark in the postseason with four shutouts and 11 goals. Friday marked the 17th UWF shutout of the season, which is the second-highest mark in GSC history and ranks 13th in NCAA DII history.
"Together we're a great unit," Bailey said. "We go through this in practice every day and do what coach tells us, basically, and it works."
UWF will face Columbus State at 1 pm ET on Sunday in Miami Shores in the NCAA Quarterfinal.
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