HICKORY, N.C. – No. 4 Columbus State Women's Soccer traveled to Hickory, N.C. for the first top 25 clash of the season, taking on No. 11 Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday afternoon.
The Lady Cougars (6-0-1) produced a draw against the Bears (3-0-3) in a challenging matchup on the road. CSU records the first tie of the season while LRU moves to three draws this season.
First Half
Columbus State threatened early with
Emma Beddow placing a low center shot on goal within the first 40 seconds of play, but Lenoir-Rhyne's keeper Riley Miller denied the early opportunity. Over the next few minutes, the hosts would tally a couple of shots but nothing too opportunistic, missing the mark a couple of times.
Beddow recorded another shot on goal and was denied yet again in the 14th minute. The Bears quickly responded with a shot on frame, saved by
Heidi Harris just a few seconds later. The first half continued on with not a lot of opportunities on goal, until
Mia Robinson's attempt was saved in the 37th minute.
Harris would go on to record one more save in the half at the 42:28 mark, denying Brady Livingston to continue the Bears' scoreless efforts.
Sage Smith tallied one final shot on goal for the Lady Cougars, sneaking a shot towards goal with just a few seconds until the half time break.
CSU held a narrow 8-6 advantage in overall shot attempts and a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal, forcing the LRU keeper to make four saves. Harris gathered two saves herself in the first 45 minutes of play. Beddow led CSU with two shots on goal.
Second Half
Lenoir-Rhyne came out of the intermission swinging and landing the first blow to the Lady Cougars in the 47th minute as Ava Hartman lifted the hosts to a 1-0 lead. Columbus State quickly returned with a goal in the 49th minute as
Michelle Medina hit the top left corner with the assist from
Sophia Leal to level the score.
Just a few moments later, the Bears were unfortunate in receiving a red card in the 53rd minute which allowed the Lady Cougars to have a golden opportunity from the penalty spot.
Lauren Barnes converted on the penalty to give CSU the 2-1 advantage.
The Bears managed to equalize in the 58th minute as Tea Sabin and Even O'Leary connected for the host's second goal of the contest.
Columbus State applied pressure to Miller just after LRU's equalizer, recording shots on goal from
Sarah Hungerford and Barnes in the 58th minute as well as another shot on goal from Hungerford in the 62nd minute.
In the 67th minute, Harris made back-to-back saves to keep the draw alive as Livingston nearly gave Lenoir-Rhyne the lead. For the rest of the match, neither team managed to record another shot on frame until Hungerford's final effort with just eight seconds remaining forcing another save from Miller which wrapped the game up with a 2-2 draw.
Inside the Numbers
- Columbus State led 19-12 in shots and 10-6 in shots on goal
- Wednesday's shot total marks the third time this season the Lady Cougars totaled under 20 shots
- LRU's 12 shots is the second-most an opponent totaled this season
- Miller finished with eight saves for LRU while Harris closed the match with four
- Hungerford finished with a team-leading three shots on goal while Barnes led with four total shots
- Both Barnes and Medina now have three goals on the season
- Leal is third-best on the team in assists with three this season
- Wednesday draw is the fourth all-time against the Bears
Next Up
- The Lady Cougars will return to Peach Belt Conference play on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET with a road matchup at Lander (S.C.) at Van Taylor Stadium in Greenwood, S.C.
