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By: Stephen Williams

COLUMBUS – In an early season showdown between Peach Belt Conference rivals, the ninth-ranked Columbus State University women's soccer team will head on the road to No. 8 North Georgia on Wednesday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Dahlonega, Ga.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Lady Cougars rebounded from their only loss of the season in a big way, rolling past USC Aiken 7-0 Saturday at the Walden Soccer Complex. Freshman Flo Spano netted the 12^th hat trick in program history and set a new program record with eight points in the match.
 
Entlich on Matchup
 
"North Georgia is an excellent team and it is always tough to win at their place. We know that we have to play our best if we want a chance on Wednesday night."
 
Series History
 
Columbus State holds a 14-2-1 advantage over the Nighthawks in 17 previous meetings, including five straight victories. The Lady Cougars defeated UNG three times in 2015, doing so in the regular season, PBC Tournament final and NCAA Tournament second round. CSU and North Georgia have met in each of the last two PBC championship matches, with CSU winning both by one goal.
 
Last Meeting
 
The Lady Cougars rallied from behind to knock off the Nighthawks 2-1 on November 15, 2015 in the NCAA Tournament second round. North Georgia broke a scoreless tie in the 69^th minute, but Cassandra Wade knotted the score at one with just over 15 minutes remaining. With the clock ticking under three minutes to play, Olivia Jarrell headed home her 14^th goal of the season to send CSU into the regional championship match.
 
About North Georgia
 
North Georgia is out to a 3-0-1 record through its first four matches and is coming off a 3-1 victory over Georgia College in the conference opener on Saturday. The Nighthawks are third in the conference at 3.0 goals per match and have the stingiest defense, which has given up just two goals this season.
 
Rachel VanHorn paces the UNG offensive attack with four goals through four matches. Three other Nighthawks have tallied a pair.
 
Hannah Goudy and Kaitlyn Siberski have split time in net this season for the Nighthawks. Goudy started Saturday's match against Georgia College and played the duration of the contest.
 
CSU Notes
 
For her performance on Saturday, Spano was named the PBC and NSCAA National Player of the Week. The freshman was just the second CSU player ever to earn the national honor.
 
Following its seven-goal outburst on Saturday, Columbus State continues to lead the PBC in scoring at 3.6 goals per contest. Ten different Lady Cougars have found the back of the net, while 14 have registered at least one point.
 
Olivia Jarrell, the 2015 PBC Freshman of the Year, has now scored in three straight matches after not tallying a goal on the opening weekend. Jarrell now has 20 goals for her career and has already moved into a tie for 10^th place on CSU's all-time list.