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COLUMBUS – With the regular season down to its final days, the fourth-ranked Columbus State University women's soccer team will try to clinch a Peach Belt Conference championship Saturday at Francis Marion. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Florence, S.C.
Columbus State (11-0-1, 8-0-0 PBC) enters the match perfect in conference play with all 24 points possible through eight contests. A victory over Francis Marion would secure a PBC regular season championship for the sixth straight year.
The Lady Cougars are coming off a record-setting performance in Wednesday night's 14-0 victory over Georgia Southwestern. The 14 goals were the most in program history, while freshman
Maddie DeFranco set the single-match points record at nine with three goals and three assists.
Rachael Sweigard also recorded a hat trick in the victory, marking the first time two Lady Cougars have each scored three goals in the same match.
While Columbus State's offense has been stealing the headlines, the Lady Cougar defense has recorded three consecutive shutouts. CSU has played 337 consecutive scoreless minutes, its longest stretch without allowing a goal since going 10 straight matches without being scored upon in 2016.
The Lady Cougars currently lead the Peach Belt and rank second in the country in scoring offense, while ranking second in the PBC on the defensive end.
Columbus State and Francis Marion have met only three times previously, with FMU claiming a victory in CSU's inaugural season of 2004 and the Lady Cougars winning each of the last two years. Columbus State has been dominant in the last two matchups, outscoring the Patriots 20-1.
Francis Marion is 5-7-1 on the season, with a 2-5-0 mark in conference action. The Patriots have lost their last two matches, including a 3-0 defeat at UNC Pembroke on Wednesday.
Saturday's match will be streamed live online, with links available at CSUCougars.com.
