COLUMBUS, Ga - The Columbus State University Women's Soccer team defeats the University of West Florida Argonauts in a thrilling 4-3 victory on Sunday afternoon. The Cougars reach their third NCAA semifinal in program history.
Another loud crowd was on hand at the Walden Soccer Complex for this Elite Eight matchup. Both teams came off of exciting third round games, West Florida beat Embry-Riddle 2-1 early on Friday. Columbus State downed Flagler 4-2 on penalty kicks later in the day on Friday.
A beautiful assist from
Lauren Barnes gave the Cougars the early lead in the 17th minute when
Anna Grady snuck the ball past the West Florida goalie with her right foot. This would be the first assist of the day for Barnes. The Argonauts responded seven minutes later when they cashed in on a penalty kick by senior Blair Cowan. This would be the only goals scored in the first half as both teams had 10 shots in the first half.
The Argonauts took all the air out of the home crowd as they started the second half hot, scoring two goals in the 52nd and 54th minute. For 13 minutes, UWF had all the momentum by the snap of a finger as the Cougars found themselves in a 3-1 hole.
After finally cracking the Argonaut defense
Lauren Barnes found herself streaking down the right side of the field in the 67th minute. She pushed the ball all the way down the field and just before she got to the boundary, she kicked the most perfect cross to
Rachael Sweigard for a Cougar goal. With 14 minutes remaining, Barnes again found herself alone on the right side again. She planted her left foot, fired away with her right, and bent a ball all the to the top left corner to tie up the game for the Cougars and continued Barnes' monster day.
This deep into the NCAA tournament every team needs some unexpected players to step up, and with three minutes left, freshman
Sarah Hungerford booted the ball with her left foot to find the back of the net to earn Columbus State a spot in the NCAA Final Four in Seattle.
UP NEXT:
The Cougars will travel to Seattle, Wash. for the Final Four of the NCAA Championship. CSU will play at 4 p.m. on December 1st in the semifinal match.
