MANCHESTER, England – The Girls Academy International Select Team continued its historic United Kingdom tour Saturday, earning a 2-0 victory over Celtic.
Emily Bernachea opened the scoring just 2:50 into the match, finding the back of the net off an assist from Gianna Mazotas to give the Select Team an early 1-0 advantage.
The Select Team continued to apply pressure throughout the opening half, with Bernachea, Harper St. James, Lilia Bhuta, Gabriella Hollins and Zoey Montgomery each putting shots on goal. GA limited Celtic to just one shot in the opening half and carried its 1-0 advantage into halftime.
Bernachea doubled the advantage 12:40 into the second half, scoring her second goal of the match off an assist from Angelica Alzugaray to put the Select Team ahead 2-0.
Celtic created more opportunities in the second half, recording two shots on goal and one additional shot off target, but the Girls Academy defense held firm to preserve the shutout and secure the 2-0 victory.
“We came up against a technical and physical Celtic team,” said coach Octavia Saunders. “Together we did well to exploit them early and put a goal in the back of the net in under three minutes. As a whole we created a lot of chances but moving into the game against Manchester United, we need to make better decisions in the final third and execute them. We will have to elevate the tempo of our game consistently for the full game.”
Bernachea led the offensive effort with a brace, while Mazotas and Alzugaray each recorded an assist. The victory marked the second win of the Girls Academy International Select Team’s inaugural international tour.
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The Girls Academy International Select Team will face Manchester United later Saturday as the round-robin tournament continues.