Box Score Savannah - Andye Dawson scored in the 19th minute to lift No. 24 Armstrong Atlantic State University to a 1-0 victory over No. 4 Columbus State in the highly anticipated Peach Belt Conference opener for both sides Saturday afternoon in Savannah, GA at the Armstrong Soccer Field.
Nadima Skeff corralled a throw in and beat a CSU defender down the end line and served a cross into the box which Dawson connected on for her second goal of the season.
Despite the score, there were plenty of scoring of opportunities for both sides.
Morgan Mitchell seemed to extend the Armstrong lead to two in the 28th minute, but a foul called in the box erased her goal. The Lady Pirates had a second goal called back late in the second half as they were whistled for offsides negating another chance to extend their lead.
Columbus State (5-1, 0-1) was inches away from being able to steal a crucial conference road win but didn't get any bounces. Kansas Bayly hit the crossbar on a free kick in the 77th minute which was followed up by a Casey Davis shot that also hit the crossball six minutes later.
In the closing minutes of the contest, Shea Wilby and Bayly both had shots on frame but were denied by Armstrong goalkeeper Maggie Carson. Stephanie Lowery also fired a shot that drilled off the crossbar with just 33 seconds remaining in the contest as the Lady Pirates were able to withstand a late offensive attack by CSU.
Armstrong (3-1-1, 1-0) extended their home unbeaten streak to 33 as well as their scoreless minute streak to 432 minutes and 22 seconds by notching their fourth straight shutout.
Maggie Carson earned the victory for Armstrong improving to 3-0-1 while making four saves. Mary Mancin suffered her first loss of the season surrendering the lone goal and denying three other shots.
Both sides took 10 shots in the match while Columbus State had a slim 3-2 advantage in corner kicks. CSU was whistled for five fouls while the Lady Pirates were called 13 times.
The Lady Cougars will look to get back on the winning track in their next contest when they travel to North Carolina to face off with Belmont Abbey in a non-conference matchup on September 19. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m.
