COLUMBUS, Ga. – Looking for the program's fifth Peach Belt Conference Tournament title, the used a 26-shot attack on its way to a 1-0 victory over UNC Pembroke on Tuesday. The PBC Tournament Quarterfinal match took place at the Walden Soccer Complex.
With the victory, the Lady Cougars (14-5-0) advanced to the semifinals to be played on Friday in Evans, Ga. CSU will square off against sixth-seeded Georgia College after the Bobcats upset third-seeded and 11th-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State University in the opening round of the tournament.
"We didn't have many good looks in the opening half but we came out strong after halftime," stated head coach Jay Entlich. "UNC Pembroke had a game plan and stuck to it and played us tough down to the wire."
"We still have to work on finishing opportunities when we get good looks at the net."
It was a slow opening half as the first shot didn't get put on the board until the 21st minute when a Mandy Janowitz attempt was blocked.
The first real scoring opportunity for the Lady Cougars came in the 24th minute as Nicole Corcione pushed a shot just wide of the goal.
Late in the half, a pair of headers nearly put two goals on the board for Columbus State. In the 38th minute, a perfect ball was played in the box to Shea Wilby as the junior jumped and connected on a header that just rolled past the right post. A minute later, Blakely Heideman headed a ball that goalkeeper Claire Tracy had to save.
Columbus State earned an early corner kick in the second half and Kelsey Pelletier played a ball into the box that Corcione put a head on but the freshman just missed a goal as the ball hit the post.
UNC Pembroke (7-10-2) recorded its only two shots of the match off a free kick in the 51st minute after a foul was called on CSU goalie Maylyn Parsons just outside of the box. Savanna Stiles lined up for the kick and lined a ball off of the Lady Cougar wall. The ball bounced right back to Stiles who again shot the ball but a Lady Cougar deflected it to safety.
After taking 16 shots including 10 of which had to be blocked or saved, shot number 17 ended up being the only one that mattered. In the 69th minute, Corcione started an attack down the left side of the field before dishing the ball off to Janowitz in the box. The freshman passed the ball to the top-right corner of the 18 to Pelletier who sent a shot past the diving Tracy to put CSU ahead 1-0.
Columbus State continued attacking looking for a two-goal advantage but couldn't finish off any look. Over the final 20 minutes, CSU took an additional nine shots.
The Lady Cougars defense continued its good play of late recording its second consecutive shutout and the third in the past four matches. In the past three contests, CSU's opponents have taken a combined 10 shots.
Maylyn Parsons picked up her fourth shutout of the season upping her record to 5-2-0. Claire Tracy fell to 2-4-2.
Columbus State is now a perfect 6-0-0 against UNC Pembroke in the postseason and has eliminated the Lady Braves from PBC Tournament play in four straight seasons.
The Lady Cougars will now travel to Evans, Ga. for the semifinals of the PBC Tournament. The semifinals and championship matches will be played at Blanchard Woods Park. CSU and Georgia College will kickoff at 2:00 p.m. ET.
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