YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. - The No. 4 Columbus State University women's soccer needed all of its offense on Wednesday to grab a 5-3 road Peach Belt Conference victory over Young Harris College. The PBC match took place at the YHC Soccer and Lacrosse Field in Young Harris, Ga.
SCORING BREAKDOWN
• The Mountain Lions took an early lead in the 11th minute on an Alexis Scarpinato goal.
• CSU didn't stay down long as Sarah Hungerford evened things just over five minutes later. It was the fifth goal of the year for the freshman.
• Rachael Sweigard gave the Cougars their first lead of the day in the 23rd minute. Lauren Barnes picked up her second assist of the match on the play
• YHC made it a 2-2 match right before the half as a free kick from Viktoria Einsbor glanced off the crossbar and crossed the goal-line for the equalizer.
• It was freshman Abigal Akerson who gave the Cougars some breathing room early in the second half. In the 51st minute, Akerson seesawed CSU back in front with a goal off an assist from Sweigard.
• A few minutes later, the freshman was at it again. After the ball landed in the box from a free kick, Akerson cleaned up the scoring opportunity to give CSU a 4-2 lead.
• Young Harris stayed in the match following a goal from Jhena Ellerbe. Sara Halilhodizc blocked an initial shot before Ellerbe scored.
• Columbus State got one final insurance goal in the 74th minute when Emma Beddow headed home a goal off a Maria Kilset free kick.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Columbus State (9-1-1, 5-0-1 PBC) doubled up Young Harris 21-10 in shots. CSU held a 13-6 SOG advantage.
• The Cougars controlled the pace of play and added eight more to their season tally.
• It was a physical match with 20 fouls called and five yellow cards handed out.
• Mckenna Peaster and Havyn Isaac combined for eight saves for Young Harris (3-7-0, 3-3-0).
• Halilhodzic made three saves en route to her second win of the season in net for the Cougars.
NOTABLES
• Columbus State's backline surrender a goal for the first time in over 326 minutes during the match.
• It's the first time YHC has scored three goals against CSU. It's also the first Mountain Lion goal against the Cougars since 2017 (a span of four matches).
• It's the second time this year Sweigard has logged two assists in a match. It's the first time in 2022 that Barnes has accomplished the feat.
• Sweigard has four four-point games this season. She has scored a goal in five of the last six matches.
• Akerson becomes the 13th Cougar to score a goal in 2022.
• Columbus State is unbeaten over its last eight matches and on a six-match winning streak.
• The Cougars have scored at least five goals in three of the last four matches.
• The Cougars improve to 11-0-0 all-time against Young Harris.
UP NEXT
Columbus State returns home to host Georgia College on Saturday, Oct. 8, at 1 p.m. for the annual Kicks for the Cure match. Tickets are available now.
