COLUMBUS, Ga. | The No. 5 Columbus State University Women's Soccer team begins its pursuit of a Peach Belt Conference Tournament championship Saturday, October 31st, hosting USC Beaufort at 2 p.m. at the Walden Soccer Complex.
The Cougars enter as the tournament's top seed after capturing the PBC regular-season championship with an unbeaten 7-0-2 conference record. CSU finished the regular season 12-3-2 overall and secured the No. 1 seed for the fourth time in the last six years. The eighth-seeded Sand Sharks enter postseason play at 6-9-2 overall and 2-5-2 in conference action.
Fans are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes and join the festivities, with a costume contest taking place at halftime.
Saturday marks the second meeting between the programs this month after Columbus State earned a 7-0 victory at Walden on October 14th. The Cougars scored three times in the opening seven minutes and carried a 4-0 advantage into halftime before adding three second-half goals.
Payton Conti led CSU with two goals and an assist in that matchup, while Skye Tumbelty contributed a goal and an assist and Sophia Leal recorded two assists. Columbus State finished with a 23-2 advantage in shots, including a 10-1 edge in shots on goal, and earned nine corner kicks to USCB's two. Huda Sayedzada and Ashlyn Valentine combined for the shutout.
The Sand Sharks return to Columbus looking to snap a three-match losing streak. USCB scored 24 goals during the regular season, averaging 1.41 per match, while allowing 32 goals. The Sand Sharks averaged 13.7 shots per contest and collected 118 corner kicks through 17 matches.
Erin Barrett leads the USCB attack with five goals and 10 points. Sophia Willis has contributed two goals and a team-high five assists for nine points, while Gabriela Colon has added three goals and two assists. Graysen Asher has handled the majority of the minutes in goal, recording 74 saves, a .740 save percentage and a 1.89 goals-against average across 15 appearances.
Columbus State counters with the conference's highest-scoring offense, producing 48 goals and averaging 2.82 per match during the regular season. The Cougars also led the PBC with 37 assists and 133 points while outshooting opponents 316-141.
Shania Wegesend leads CSU with eight goals and shares the team lead in points with Mia Robinson at 18. Robinson has recorded seven goals and four assists, while Conti has totaled five goals and five assists for 15 points. Kendal Coreil adds another scoring threat with five goals and three assists.
The Cougars enter the tournament with nine All-Conference selections, highlighted by junior defender Ui Suzuki's PBC Defensive Player of the Year recognition. Suzuki started all 17 regular-season matches and helped CSU record five shutouts while allowing a league-low-tying nine goals in conference play.
Suzuki joined Wegesend, Conti, Robinson, Tumbelty, Kelsey Croft and Sayedzada on the All-PBC First Team. Coreil and Leal earned Second Team honors. Sayedzada finished the regular season with an 8-1-1 record, a 0.71 goals-against average, 30 saves and an .811 save percentage.
Head coach Jay Entlich, in his 23rd season at Columbus State, earned PBC Coach of the Year honors for the 11th time. Under Entlich, the Cougars have climbed to No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches national poll and enter postseason play atop the Southeast Region in the NCAA NPI rankings.
A victory Saturday would send Columbus State into a home semifinal Wednesday, November 4th, against either fourth-seeded GCSU or fifth-seeded Clayton State. Those teams meet Saturday at 2 p.m. in Milledgeville.
On the opposite side of the bracket, second-seeded North Georgia hosts seventh-seeded USCA, while third-seeded Flagler welcomes sixth-seeded Lander. The advancing teams from those matches will meet in the other semifinal.
The PBC Tournament championship is scheduled for Saturday, November 7th, at the highest remaining seed. As the tournament's top seed, Columbus State would host each round in which it advances.
