The Georgia Southern University women’s soccer team will battle with the Elon University Phoenix tomorrow in Birmingham, Ala. for a chance to take the team further than GSU has ever been before.

The only thing standing between GSU and the Southern Conference finals is Elon.  Part one of the battle of the birds ended in a 1-0 loss for GSU earlier this season.

This could be a great omen since GSU lost its previous meeting to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Spartans 1-0 only to pull off the dramatic upset.

When GSU fell to Elon on Oct. 12 the team was in the midst of a losing streak.  Unfortunately for Elon, GSU has found its stride at the perfect time.

The team has won three straight games allowing one goal during the streak. The freshmen have played well recently with freshman midfielder Nora El-Shami leading the way.

El-Shami was named to the SoCon All Freshman team while senior defender Zoe Van Gorder was named to the all SoCon Team.

It was also El-Shami that scored the game-winning goal in round one of the playoffs.

The Eagles are hot right now, but it was at this point last year that the season came to an abrupt end.  GSU will have 90 minutes tomorrow to build on their legacy instead of repeating history.

GSU is 1-1-1 in its last three meetings against Elon, with Elon holding the all time series lead at 6-3-1.

Elon boasts the SoCon coach of the year with Chris Neal, but head coach Lindsey Vanderspiegel has gotten a lot out of her team.

In just her second season, Vanderspiegel could have the team in the finals for the first time in team history.

GSU’s second consecutive playoff appearance means the program is headed in the right direction. A win tomorrow would shake up the tournament and the record books.