COLUMBUS – In a battle of two highly touted programs, Saturday's NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship Quarterfinal match between top-seeded Columbus State and top-seeded West Florida provided for a thrilling experience at the Walden Soccer Complex.
Both teams came into the contest as the titleholders of their respective regions and were prepared to fight for a trip to Matthews, N.C. next weekend. However, it would be the Lady Cougars (22-0-2) who sent the Argonauts (17-1-4) back to Pensacola, Fla. with a 4-3 loss in penalty kicks and punching their ticket to the NCAA Semifinals.
First Half
The prominent attack of Columbus State struck first with back-to-back shots from the foot of
Emma Beddow being denied by Maciah Lipsey in goal for UWF.
Heidi Harris recorded her first save of the match at the 9:32 mark as a shot from the Argonauts landed between the posts.
UWF gave CSU fits early with the energetic, high-pressing mentality that was a part of the game plan in hopes to disrupt the Lady Cougars. West Florida recorded another shot on goal at the 14:37 mark with Harris coming up big yet again.
The first half was tightly contested and was loaded with back-and-forth action as both teams struggled to crack through in the offensive third. Columbus State closed the half with a prime opportunity before the halftime break as a point-blank shot from
Ui Suzuki at the 42:16 mark was saved by the UWF backline.
CSU closed the half with a 6-2 lead in shots and a tight edge of 3-2 in shots on goal. The Lady Cougars also led 3-1 in corners, but the match remained scoreless after 45 minutes.
Second Half
West Florida registered the first shot of the second half in the 51st minute, forcing Harris to make yet another save to keep the 0-0 draw alive. Beddow followed in the 52nd minute with a shot from the far side of the goal knocking the right woodwork and bouncing away in what appeared to be the Lady Cougars' best chance at taking the lead.
Both teams battled and struggled to produce much offensively down until the final stretch of regulation. Columbus State tallied three shots on goal in the final 10 minutes of play with all three being knocked away from Lipsey in goal.
90 minutes would not be enough to decide a winner despite CSU's second half 5-2 advantage in shots and a 3-1 shot on goal advantage. UWF made the Lady Cougar defense work incredibly hard in the second half, recording a 7-2 edge in corners.
Overtime
The Lady Cougars looked poised to secure a win in the first overtime with a 4-1 shot advantage, but just one shot landed on frame in the 96th minute as
Michelle Medina's attempt towards goal was thwarted.
West Florida flipped the script in the second overtime period, registering three shots in the final moments of the period. Fortunately, none of the attempts were on frame as the CSU defense managed to hold tightly to the draw to force penalties.
After 110 minutes, it all came down to penalty kicks. West Florida went up 2-1 as Harris's attempt was saved by Lipsey. After going up 3-2, UWF would be denied a chance at advancing as Harris denied the final two kicks to help lift CSU to the semifinals. Beddow,
Vanessa Aviles,
Avery Williams, and
Anna LaBarbera all buried their shots to help secure the program's fourth NCAA semifinal appearance.
Inside the Numbers
- Columbus State finished with an 18-5 advantage in shots and a 7-3 shot on goal edge.
- West Florida led 10-5 in corner kicks.
- Beddow led the game with seven shots and three landing on goal.
- Harris notched three saves in 110 minutes and followed up with two more during the penalty kicks for 42 on the season.
- Columbus State remains unbeaten this season, adding the draw from Saturday's clash versus the Argonauts.
- The Lady Cougars are on a six-match shutout streak and have held opponents scoreless in 17 matches this season.
- CSU will make the program's forth national semifinal appearance.
Next Up
- Columbus State earns the top-seed for the final site and will face fourth-seeded Minnesota State-Mankato on Dec. 13 at 3 p.m. ET in Matthews, N.C.
