MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The No. 2-ranked Columbus State Women's Soccer team traveled west to wrap up the regular season with a non-conference match at Montevallo (Ala.) on Wednesday evening.
The Lady Cougars (16-0-1) flew past the Falcons (10-4-3) in a compelling 5-0 victory on the road to seal the regular season shut with near perfect regular season. Columbus State utilized three first-half goals to jump way ahead of Montevallo before slamming the door shut with two more goals late in the second half.
First Half
Montevallo registered the first shot of the match, landing a ball between the posts for
Heidi Harris to gather her first save of the match. Columbus State responded with a shot on goal from
Emma Beddow in the 3rd minute before eventually finding the back of the net roughly 30 seconds later. CSU took advantage of a corner kick and
Vanessa Aviles slotted home the first score of the match with the help of
Sarah Hungerford.
Nearly six minutes would pass with no real action happening until the 8:31 mark as Hungerford ripped a shot that missed the mark. A couple of minutes later, Hungerford tallied a shot on goal which was denied by Emily Hounsell in goal. CSU would follow with a shot on goal from
Abigail Akerson which was saved by Hounsell before finding a second goal in the 14th minute.
Hungerford knocked in her 11th goal of the season and sixth in just seven days with the assist coming from
Lizz Forshaw. Over the next several minutes, both teams would force shots towards goal as each keeper would go on to make a couple of saves each.
Columbus State took a three-goal advantage at the 32:09 mark with
Michelle Medina scoring off the pass by
Mia Robinson. That would go on to be CSU's final shot of the half while UM took a pair of shots in the dying minutes with Harris picking up another save.
The Lady Cougars held a 10-5 shot advantage in the first half and led 8-4 in shots on goal as well. Harris recorded four saves in the first 45 minutes while Hounsell notched five.
Second Half
Five seconds into the half,
Faith Knoedler pressured Hounsell with a shot on goal, but the keeper kept the shot away. Montevallo followed up the next several minutes with five shots all but one missed the target as an attempt at the 49:57 mark was saved by the CSU defense.
Columbus State returned the favor with five straight unanswered shots over the next seven minutes, recording just two on frame. Harris stood firm in goal for two more saves in the match before being subbed out later in the half.
The Lady Cougars would add to the tally in the 80th minute and the 82nd minute.
Elle Henschel scored on a solo effort followed by
Brooke Yount's first goal of the season assisted by
Lauren Barnes.
Roxy Mathews came in to replace Harris after the fifth goal and notched three saves to close out the match and keep the 5-0 lead unscathed. Montevallo increased pressure to CSU's backline in the second half, leading 12-11 in shots.
Inside the Numbers
- CSU to an 11-3 record over UM, taking control of a 21-17 lead in shots and 15-10 advantage in shots on goal.
- Hounsell notched 10 saves for Montevallo while Harris recorded six and Mathews finished with three for Columbus State.
- Both Hungerford and Beddow led with four shots and two on frame.
- Hungerford recorded her 11th goal of the season, moving to 26 points.
- Both Aviles and Medina have found the back of the net eight times this season.
- Yount is now the 17th CSU player who has scored a goal this season.
- The CSU defense has recorded 11 shutouts in the 2024 campaign.
- Wednesday's match is just the sixth time this season an opponent has recorded double-digit shots.
Next Up
- Columbus State will head to postseason play with the quarterfinals of the PBC Tournament on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, hosting eighth-seeded USC Beaufort (S.C.) at the Walden Soccer Complex.
