No. 7 Cougars March on to PBC Semifinals
COLUMBUS - The No. 7 and top-seeded Columbus State University women's soccer team scored a trio of goals in each half to defeat eighth-seeded Georgia Southwestern University 6-0 in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at the Walden Soccer Complex.
The win moves Columbus State into the semifinal round of the tournament, which will be played at Blanchard Woods Parks in Evans, Ga. Friday, Nov. 12 at 5 p.m. The Cougars will play fifth-seeded University of North Georgia after UNG's 2-0 win over fourth-seeded Clayton State University.
CSU (17-1-1) scored early and often on Saturday as Lauren Barnes knocked one home in the third minute off a pass near the far side of the field from Brooke Ouimette to put the Cougars on the board. Less than 10 minutes later, Maddy Peterson took on a few defenders before firing a shot for her fifth goal of the season.
It would then turn into the Maddie DeFranco show. The senior scored the next three goals, one in the 18th, 57th and 72nd minute, to register her second career hat trick. DeFranco's first goal came off a deflected shot off the crossbar from Barnes, while her two second-half goals were unassisted.
Emma Beddow capped off the scoring with a goal in the 80th minute in her first match back from a three-game absence.
Columbus State dominated possession, outshooting Georgia Southwestern (7-8-1) 20-1. CSU had six corner kicks compared to zero from the Hurricanes.
Sara Halilhodzic and Lizzie Hedrick teamed up for their 10th shutout of the year.
COUGAR NOTES
The Cougars improve to 34-8-3 all-time in PBC Tournament play
It's the 12th straight season that Columbus State has advanced to the PBC Tournament semifinals
DeFranco becomes the second Cougar in as many matches to record a hat trick following Sydney Ormsby's three-goal performance against Albany State University last weekend. It was the 22nd hat trick in program history
CSU's winning streak improves to six, and the Cougars are outscoring their opponents 32-4 over the stretch
CSU has scored five or more goals in four straight and three or moral goals in 14 matches this season
Columbus State outscored GSW 13-0 while outshooting the Hurricanes 46-2 over two matches this season
Bearcats shutout Aiken 1-0 to advance to PBC semifinals
GREENWOOD, S.C. - Second-seeded Lander defeated seventh seed USC-Aiken 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the Peach Belt Tournament. The Bearcats advance to the semifinals at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Ga., next Friday. Lander will face the winner of the Flagler/Georgia College at 8:00 PM.
The Bearcats dominated the first half, living on the Pacer side of the field and outshooting the USC-Aiken 8-0. The lone goal was scored by Annika Seifart on an assist from Mia Piazza in the 16th minute. Despite only scoring one goal in the match, the Bearcats held the Pacers without a shot and recorded their eighth shutout and fourth in their last five games.
North Georgia Scores Early, Shuts Out Clayton State 2-0
MORROW, GA – The University of North Georgia women’s soccer team scored two goals in the first 15 minutes and then played shutout defense for the remainder of the game as they defeated fourth-seeded Clayton State 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the PBC women’s soccer tournament on Saturday.
With the win, the fifth-seeded Nighthawks return to Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Ga., for the PBC semifinals on Friday, Nov. 12, where they will meet top-seeded Columbus State at 5pm. UNG took CSU to double overtime before falling 3-2 in their regular-season meeting on Oct. 20.
On Saturday, Maysoon El-Shami got the offense off to a quick start with a goal just 8:38 into play. Taylor Malasek brought the ball into the left side of the box and threaded a pass on the ground to the center, where El-Shami went top shelf to score.
Malasek got the second goal herself as Megan Dumond sent a brilliant pass through the Laker defense from the midfield to a streaking Malasek who beat Clayton State keeper Valentina Bonaiuto one-on-one for the 2-0 lead.
The Nighthawks kept up the pressure in the first half, outshooting Clayton State 12-0 and forcing Bonaiuto to make six saves.
The second half was reversed as the Lakers pressed, outshooting the Nighthawks 7-5 but unable to find the net. UNG keeper Sierra Fowler made three saves in the winning effort.