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Georgia State University
2008 Year in Review
The 2008 season saw Georgia State women’s soccer program
take stage on the national level both athletically and academically
behind senior captains Kay Harbrueger and Candace Gonzales.
Harbrueger positioned herself near the top of the national scoring
lists, ranking fi fth in the nation in points per game (2.39) and
sixth in goals per game (1.0). Candace Gonzales made waves in
the academic arena by being named as one of ten fi nalists for the
Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award for her scholastic achievements at
Georgia State. As the Panthers piled up accolades, the season came
to a conclusion with Georgia State narrowly missing out on the
school’s fi rst-ever CAA Championship
berth.
Leadership came from a variety of sources
on the 2008 squad. An accomplished
senior class of seven led the Panthers
to the best start in school history (6-0-
0). Seniors Kay Harbrueger, Caroline
Harvischak, Candace Gonzales, Karli
Klein, Kara Vezza, Jessica Carithers,
and Kristen McKillop took Georgia
State from the Atlantic Sun to the role
of contenders in the Colonial Athletic
Association during their careers.
The season opened with a dominating performance for Georgia
State as they defeated Tennessee Tech 5-1 at Panthersville to
begin the season. The opener saw a blend of senior leadership
and freshman talent as seniors Kay Harbrueger and Candace
Gonzales notched two goals each before freshman Erinique
Owens deposited her fi rst career goal to fi nish off the Golden
Eagles. The win also netted senior Kay Harbrueger her fi rst of
two CAA Player of the Week awards for the season.
The season-opening win over Tennessee Tech paved the way for a
pair of 4-0 victories for Georgia State over Jacksonville State and
Winthrop the following week, the latter of the pair representing
the Panthers’ fi rst road win of the season.
After vanquishing Birmingham-Southern 3-0 in a hard fought
game that remained scoreless until the 72nd minute, Georgia
State traveled to Jacksonville for the Fun in the Sun tournament at
Jacksonville University. In the fi rst of two games in Jacksonville,
Kay Harbrueger recorded a hat-trick to down UNC Asheville 5-1.
The hat-trick was the eighth in school history and the fi rst time
since the feat was accomplished by Amber Collins-Cephers in a
2003 game against Jacksonville. The win pushed the Panthers’
record to 6-0-0. Unfortunately, the record would receive its fi rst
blemish in the very next game, a 1-0 double overtime loss to
24
Fairfi eld. The loss to Fairfi eld had an additional sting, the game
saw Kay Harbrueger and Kara Vezza ejected due to red cards.
With the pain of their 1-0 loss to Fairfi eld still fresh on their
minds, Georgia State returned to form with a tough 1-0 overtime
win over Georgia Southern without starting senior forwards
Harbrueger and Vezza. The win pushed the Panthers to the best
start in school history, 7-1-0.
After dropping a 2-0 decision to Mercer and losing their
conference opener 5-0
to #25 Old Dominion,
Georgia State made another
leap forward with a 2-1
win over conference rival
William & Mary. Georgia
State head coach Domenic
Martelli called the win
over the region’s’ seventh
ranked team “the biggest
in program history”. The
Panthers played heroically
on both ends of the fi eld.
Trailing 1-0 for most of
the game, sophomore
goalkeeper Heidi Blankenship kept the Panthers alive with 12
saves on the afternoon. In the 79th minute, senior Kay Harbrueger
found freshman Lindsay Mortellaro for her fi rst career goal to tie
the game. Nearing overtime, Harbrueger snatched the lead away
from the Tribe with a goal of her own in the 82nd minute.
After returning to .500 in conference with the win over William &
Mary, Georgia State dropped a pair of conference games to VCU
and James Madison. Facing a four game road-trip, the Panthers
realized time was running short. Georgia State answered the call
with a shutout road win over George Mason and a 2-1 double
overtime win over Towson.
Unfortunately, Georgia State would suffer another setback the
following week. Missing Harbrueger for the second time during
the season, the Panthers dropped a 3-0 decision to Northeastern,
followed by an excruciating 3-4 loss to Hofstra. Against Hofstra,
Georgia State battled back from a 2-0 halftime defi cit with stellar
play from seniors Caroline Harvischak and Kay Harbrueger.
Harbrueger found the back of the net twice in the second half, the
latter coming in the 80th minute to tie the game 3-3. The Georgia
State rally was cut short, however, when Hofstra delivered the
knockout blow in the 83rd minute to take the win.