COLUMBUS – No. 6-ranked Columbus State Women's Soccer welcomed Georgia College to the Walden Soccer Complex on Saturday afternoon for the first Peach Belt Conference clash of the season.
The Lady Cougars (6-0-0, 1-0-0 PBC) blanked the Bobcats (3-3-0, 0-1-0 PBC) with a strong second half performance, securing a 4-0 victory to open PBC play.
First Half
The first half opened slowly between both sides with possession being shared with no real offensive production until the fifth minute.
Emma Beddow registered the first shot of the match with a shot on frame saved by the Georgia College keeper. The visitors returned roughly seven minutes later with a shot on goal in the 12th minute saved by
Heidi Harris to keep the clean sheet.
Faith Knoedler registered a shot on goal in the 14th minute but was denied by the keeper. Despite a couple of poor offensive opportunities, CSU managed to record two more shots on goal in the half.
Mia Robinson's attempts in the 36th minute and 44th minute were saved by GCSU's keeper to keep the 0-0 draw alive, heading into the intermission.
Second Half
Both teams opened by trading shots early in the second half but missing the mark. The Lady Cougars nearly broke the scoring drought in the 54th minute with shots from
Lauren Barnes and
Sage Smith hitting the woodwork followed by another hitting the crossbar in the 56th minute off the foot of Beddow.
Knoedler would record a shot on goal in the 57th minute before Beddow would break the drought in the 59th minute assisted by Barnes for the 1-0 lead. The Bobcats quickly pressured Harris with a shot on goal, but the CSU keeper denied the opportunity to keep the lead intact.
The duo of
Michelle Medina and
Lizz Forshaw put shots on frame in the 61st and 62nd minutes, respectively to help continue the threatening attack. Columbus State eventually found the back of the net for a second time in the 66th minute as Forshaw assisted
Sophia Leal for the 2-0 lead.
The game began slowing down and the CSU attack produced just three attempts with two on goal before scoring a third late in the match.
Vanessa Aviles scored in the 85th minute with the help of
Juanita Escobar to extend the lead. The Lady Cougars slipped one additional score in the back of the net in the 88th minute with Robinson slotting the fourth goal with the help of
Elle Henschel and
Ui Suzuki to close out the game 4-0.
Inside the Numbers
- CSU controlled the shot count with a 27-6 shot advantage and a 13-2 lead in shots on goal.
- GCSU's keeper made nine saves while Harris notched two.
- Knoedler and Robinson both led with five shots as Beddow followed with four.
- Robinson notched four on frame with Beddow, Forshaw, and Knoedler recording two shots on frame.
- Leal recorded her first score of the season to become the 13th individual goal scorer for the Lady Cougars.
- Both Barnes and Escobar notched their first assists of the season.
- Beddow now leads the team with 11 points this season, totaling three goals and five assists.
- Aviles follows behind Beddow with nine points, scoring a team-leading four goals and assisting one.
- CSU has six Lady Cougars with three or more goals and four individuals with two apiece.
- Columbus State moves to 22-2-5 all-time over the Bobcats with a 10-game winning streak.
Next Up
- The Lady Cougars will hit the road next Wednesday with a challenging test at No. 13 Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) for a 1 p.m. kick in Hickory, N.C.
