No. 18 Lady Cougars Defeat USC Aiken

September 28, 2013

Columbus – The 18th-ranked Columbus State University women's soccer team used two first half goals and added another in the closing minutes to down USC Aiken 3-1 Saturday afternoon to record the program's 150thvictory. The Peach Belt Conference tilt took place at the Walden Soccer Complex. 

CSU reaches the 150-win plateau in just over nine full seasons after Jay Entlich started the program in 2004. All-time, the Lady Cougars are now 150-41-19. 

"It was great to pick up the milestone victory today in front of the home crowd," stated Entlich. "I'm proud of all of the players that have come through here and want to thank the older players for laying the groundwork of this program." 

Columbus State (4-3-0, 2-0-0 PBC) jumped out in front early in the match as freshman Nicole Corcione found the back of the net in the seventh minute. On an attack, Shelby Rolling chipped the ball into the box where Corcione corralled it and fired a shot that beat the goalie to the left. 

In the 20th minute, forward Chelsea Person drew a foul in the box to earn CSU a penalty kick. Rolling took the kick for the Lady Cougars but USC Aiken goalkeeper Melissa Westphal made a nice save to keep the score at 1-0. 

The Lady Cougars continued to attack the net but were unable to find the goal until the 42nd minute as Mandy Janowtiz scored her first collegiate goal. She received a pass from fellow freshman Kayla Taylor and snuck the ball past the left post for the goal. 

Coming out of the break, Columbus State dominated the pace of the match and added to its 21 shot total. 

USC Aiken (4-4-0, 1-2-0) made things interesting in the 77th minute on a corner kick. Jenna Beauregard took the kick for the Pacers but the attempt was to close to CSU goalkeeper Meosha Hatcher as she punched it out of the box. However, the ball found Caroline Gillespie who fired a shot from 19 yards out for her first goal of the season.    

It was USC Aiken's first goal against Columbus State since the two teams' first ever meeting in 2004. The streaked stretched for nine full matches and over 900 minutes. 

For the second time in three matches, Rolling iced the game for the Lady Cougars off a free kick just outside of the box nailing the shot to the upper-left portion of the net. 

"It was nice for a change to score an early goal in the match, "commented Entlich. "Saying that, we still didn't play well and this match shows us that we still have a long way to go. Next week is critical for us as we play three matches in five days." 

Columbus State ended the match holding a 21-5 advantage in shots and 7-3 in corner kicks. 

Hatcher improved to 4-1-0 making three saves while Westphal's record went to 2-2-0. 

Columbus State will now turn its attention to Anderson as the Lady Cougars play their first true road contest of the season on Tuesday, October 1. The match will begin at 4:00 p.m.

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