HARROGATE, Tenn. | The Columbus State University Women's Soccer team earned its first win of the 2026 campaign Saturday (Aug. 29) afternoon, defeating Lincoln Memorial University 3-2 at the LMU Soccer Field.
The Cougars wasted little time taking control of the match. Mia Robinson opened the scoring in the 13th minute, finding the back of the net off an assist from Mia Johnson to give Columbus State an early 1-0 advantage.
Lincoln Memorial answered in the 25th minute as Donna Van Der Zalm converted a penalty kick to even the match at one. The Cougars quickly regained control with two goals during the closing minutes of the opening half.
Skye Tumbelty broke the tie in the 41st minute, scoring off an assist from Juanita Escobar. Less than three minutes later, Kaylee Castano added her first goal of the season to send CSU into halftime with a 3-1 lead.
The Railsplitters cut the deficit to one early in the second half when Van Der Zalm scored her second goal of the afternoon. Columbus State's defense held firm for the remainder of the match, limiting LMU to three shots on goal overall and securing the 3-2 road victory.
"Anytime you can go on the road and get a win against a quality opponent like LMU, we need to embrace the moment," Columbus State Head Women's Soccer Coach Jay Entlich said. "We have an extremely young team this year, so we need to continue to grow in every game."
The Cougars finished the contest with a 15-8 advantage in shots, a 10-3 edge in shots on goal, and a 10-2 advantage in corner kicks. Columbus State improves to 1-1 on the season, while Lincoln Memorial moves to 0-1-1.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
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#16 Mia Robinson: 1 goal, 3 shots, 3 shots on goal
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#22 Skye Tumbelty: 1 goal, 2 shots, 2 shots on goal
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#8 Kaylee Castano: 1 goal, 1 shot, 1 shot on goal
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#2 Mia Johnson: 1 assist, 1 shot, 1 shot on goal
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#14 Juanita Escobar: 1 assist, 1 shot
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#17 Brianna Nguyen: 3 shots, 2 shots on goal
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#0 Ashlyn Valentine: 1 save
UP NEXT:
The Cougars return to action Thursday (Sept. 3) at noon when they travel to Daytona Beach, Florida, to face Embry-Riddle University.
