Tuscaloosa, Ala. - Two second half goals lifted the University of Alabama to a 2-0 victory over the Columbus State University women's soccer team on Friday. The match took place at the Alabama Soccer Complex.

The Lady Cougars (1-0-0, 1-0-0 PBC) were competitive throughout the match, including outshooting the Crimson Tide in the first half. CSU also held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks. 

"I thought we put up a good fight today," commented head coach Jay Entlich. "You always want to win, but we played a very talented group. We can take the lessons we learned and apply them in training to continue to improve as a team."

Columbus State had the first dangerous look as Kimmy Edgeworth made UA goalkeeper Mckinley Crone lay out to keep the match scoreless in the 17th minute. The Lady Cougars kept the possession on the Bama side of the pitch for the final 15 minutes of the half with CSU racking up three corner kicks during the stretch.

It was a corner kick that put Alabama (3-5-2, 2-5-2 SEC) ahead in the 65th minute. Macy Clem found the back of the net off the set piece to give the hosts a 1-0 advantage.  

After Crone had to make another save to keep the Lady Cougars off the board, this time on a Kimmy May attempt, Alabama made it 2-0 on a penalty kick in the 72nd minute. 

CSU had another shot on goal late in the game, but Crone made the stop to keep the shutout alive.

UP NEXT
The Lady Cougars begin a busy week on Monday, Feb. 22 with a PBC match against Lander University in Greenwood, S.C. It will be the first of three matches during the week for CSU. 

Cougar Notes
• The match was an exhibition contest for the Lady Cougars; however, it was a regular-season decision for Alabama. 
• Three players fired off shots for Columbus State with May leading the way with two. Three of CSU's four shots were on target.
• Bria Riancho started in goal and played 83 minutes for the Lady Cougars. Sara Halilhodzic made two saves over the final seven-plus minutes. 
• Olivia Roth and Rachael Sweigard played all 90 minutes on Friday.
• The exhibition was the first of three against Division I opponents this spring season. CSU will take on the University of South Alabama (March 27) and Mississippi State University (April 1) to close out the schedule.