MATTHEWS, N.C. – The top-seeded and second-ranked Columbus State Women's Soccer team is poised to continue their NCAA Division II National Championship title race on Friday afternoon in Matthews, N.C. for the NCAA Final Four match versus Minnesota State-Mankato.
The Lady Cougars (22-0-2) take on the fourth-seeded Mavericks (17-1-7) at 3 p.m. ET at the Sportsplex at Matthews. Friday's semifinals clash will be the first time the two programs have met.
CSU are making their fourth semifinal appearance in program history and the second since the 2022 season. The Lady Cougars punched their ticket to the Final Four opening the tournament with wins of 3-0, 6-0, 2-0, and then the 4-3 win in penalties last weekend.
Scouting the Mavericks:
As for the Mavericks, they are making their semifinals debut in Matthews after a stellar season winning their conference's regular season and tournament titles. Minnesota State-Mankato has the lowest goals-against average in DII and will look to be a tough matchup for the nation's best attack in CSU.
The Mavericks punched their ticket with a penalty shootout victory over Grand Valley State (Mich.). MSUM as allowed just six goals across 25 matches and is led defensively by Lucy Weninger. On the attack, Maddix Archer leads with nine goals and eight assists.
Previewing the Lady Cougars:
Columbus State edged out West Florida in a 4-3 shootout victory a week ago and has produced a clean sheet in each of the National Tournament matches so far, producing a total of 11 goals in the process. CSU boasts the top offensive team in Division II with 100 goals this season and is just third across all three levels in NCAA Women's Soccer.
Coach
Jay Entlich has led the program to another semifinal appearance and has challenged the Lady Cougars to be a force on the offensive end of the field. That has proven to be true as CSU has been top tree in scoring in the last four seasons.
A total of six players have scored nine or more goals this season with
Sarah Hungerford,
Vanessa Aviles,
Michelle Medina, and
Abigail Akerson all totaling 10 or more. Hungerford and Aviles lead the way as the top goal scorers with 12 apiece while
Emma Beddow is the leading lady in assists with 10, adding nine goals as well.
CSU not only has a dangerous attack but is balanced out by a great defensive corps as well. The Lady Cougars have held opponents to just 10 goals all season and are led by PBC Defender of the Year
Heidi Harris in goal who has allowed just 0.32 goals per game and producing an 85.7 save percentage. The backline of
Kelsey Croft,
Anna LaBarbera, and
Avery Williams have been solid all year long, allowing opponents to produce an average of just 6.8 shots per contest.
How to Follow Along:
The Lady Cougars and the Mavericks kick off at 3 p.m. ET on Friday in Matthews with a chance to advance to Sunday's 3 p.m. ET National Title match versus the winner of Franklin Pearce and Cal Poly Pomona.
Family and fans that are able to travel can
purchase tickets here. Others that cannot make it to N.C. may
follow along here.
