COLUMBUS - A 69th-minute goal was enough for No. 22 the University of North Georgia to upset the No. 7 Columbus State University women's soccer team 1-0 on Thursday evening. The Peach Belt Conference match took place at the Walden Soccer Complex.

The two teams played a scoreless opening half, with Columbus State (4-1-1, 4-1-1 PBC) dominating possession, and the Lady Cougars started the second half on the attack. CSU had four corner kicks over the first eight minutes of the second half, with the final one resulting in a header from Parker Morgan that had to be stopped by UNG goalkeeper Morgan Ramby.  

It was North Georgia (4-1-0, 4-1-0 PBC) who finally broke through a few minutes. The Nighthawks raced down the far side of the field before the ball was sent into the box. Taylor Malasek put a soft touch on the ball and played it to Megan Dumon, who rifled the shot by Bria Riancho. 

Rachael Sweigard attempted to tie the game in the 72nd and 80th minute but both shots were denied by Ramby.

Riancho kept the Lady Cougars alive in the 81st minute following a CSU foul in the box. The senior came away with the clutch penalty kick save off, diving to her right to reject Malasek's try. 

The Lady Cougars pressed on over the final minutes but were unable to come up with the equalizer.

"North Georgia is an excellent defensive team, and you know what you are going to have to play against when you match up against them," commented head coach Jay Entlich. "We just didn't make enough plays tonight, and they did. You have to give them credit for executing when they needed to."

Columbus State fired off the first two shots of the match but its best look of the day came on its fifth and final shot of the first half. In the 40th minute, Lizz Forshaw had open space near the top of the box before setting up for a dangerous look at the net. However, the shot went high to keep the match scoreless.

The Lady Cougars outshot UNG 10-5 and held a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks.

UP NEXT
Columbus State plays its final scheduled regular-season match on Monday, March 21, against Francis Marion University. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. in Florence, S.C.

MATCH NOTES
• The loss snaps Columbus State's 13-match regular-season winning streak. CSU's last loss in regular season play came on Oct. 5, 2019. 
• CSU was whistled for 12 fouls compared to six on UNG. The Nighthawks had two yellow cards shown to them, both coming in the second half. 
• Eight of CSU's nine corner kicks came in the second half. 
• Columbus State had a season-low in shots (10) and shots on goal (five). 
• The last seven Columbus State losses have been by one goal. 
• UNG has won three straight matches over Columbus State at the Walden Soccer Complex. The Nighthawks are the only team to have five or more wins in Columbus.