COLUMBUS – After allowing an equalizer in the 63^rd minute, the fifth-ranked Columbus State University women's soccer team scored four goals in a 13-minute span to defeat Lee 5-2 Sunday afternoon. The match was the finale of the CSU Collegiate Invitational at the Walden Soccer Complex.

"I was pleased with the way we played tonight, especially on the offensive side of the ball," said Columbus State head coach Jay Entlich. "We scored five really good goals tonight and played very unselfishly, which is great to see so early in the year."

"Having said that, we still have plenty of things to work on, including our defense, but being able to get a win against a quality opponent like Lee is great."

The win was the first ever for CSU against Lee after losing and drawing with the Lady Flames in the first two meetings.  

The Lady Cougars took control of the match early on striking in the ninth minute as Nicole Corcione took a great chip pass from Mandy Janowitz and beat Lee goalkeeper Haley Gribler for her first goal of the season.

Lee (0-2-0) responded with an attack of their own but Maylyn Parsons was able to turn away a Kaela Leskovar shot. A few moments later, defender Becca Calder saved a goal for the Lady Cougars heading a ball out of trouble that was destined for the back of the net. 

Late in the first half, Lady Cougar senior Tori Hood nearly made it 2-0 sending a shot to the far left side of the goal from about 20 yards out. However, Gribler stretched fully out to keep it a 1-0 match.

Beginning the second half, Columbus State (2-0-0) looked to be in a good position to add to its lead. In the 50^th minute, Janowitz had a goal taken away from her after defender Suzanne Arant saved the shot from going over the goal line. CSU also had three other dangerous attempts at net including a Cassandra Wade shot that had to be turned away by Gribler.

Lee never quit, however, and managed to strike in the 63^rd minute. Summer Lanter was able to get deep inside the box and fired a shot off of Parsons in net. Lanter scrambled to get to the ball and chipped it in for the goal before Parsons was able to get back to her feet.

With the match all tied up, it only took seven minutes until the Lady Cougar offensive attack exploded. In the 70^th minute, Janowitz used her great ball control to fool two defenders on the far right side of the box before sending a laser past Gribler for the go-ahead goal.

In the 73^rd minute, Wade set up a great goal finding a streaking Hugrun Elvarsdottir past the Lee backline.  Elvarsdottir easily finished off the attempt for her first Lady Cougar goal.

The barrage continued for the Lady Cougars as they made it 4-1 just two minutes later after Corcione scored her second goal of the night. The junior barely snuck the shot under the crossbar into the upper 90 portion of the net after receiving the pass from Wade. 

After assisting on back-to-back goals, Wade got in on the scoring frenzy in the 84^th minute. Corcione took the attack into the box for the Lady Cougars, and with the defenders bearing down on her, led Wade with a pass that the sophomore finished off to make it 5-1.

Lee added its second goal in the 87^th minute as Mia Hollingsworth was able to slide a shot past the goal line.

"I was disappointed that we allowed a goal so late in the match," added Entlich. "We had some fresh legs out there and we have to play a full 90-minute match to prepare ourselves for matches down the road."  

Parsons improved to 2-0-0 on the season in goal for the Lady Cougars after making eight saves.

Columbus State will now hit the road for the first time this season traveling to the Sunshine State for a pair of matches next weekend. On Friday, Sept. 11, the Lady Cougars take on Tampa at 7 p.m. before closing the weekend out with a top-five showdown against Rollins on Sunday, Sept. 13.