CSU Advances to Region Final with 2-0 Win over Catawba

Lady Cougars to Face Carson-Newman Next Weekend in Pensacola, FL

Columbus, GA - Top-seed Columbus State got a pair of first-half goals and made them stand as the Lady Cougars defeated Catawba College 2-0 in the second round of the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Regional at the Walden Soccer Complex. Columbus State (20-3-1) advances to face Carson-Newman in the regional final next week.

Gina Goforth got CSU on the board first in the game's fifth minute. The junior forward broke away and ran down a long pass from Kim Gaughan in the box and beat Indians keeper Lindsay Webster one-on-one for her 18th goal of the season. The goal came at the 4:35 mark in the contest.

The Lady Cougars got an insurance score in the 30th minute. Rachel Walthall took a pass from Melinda Bush and fired a shot that caromed off Webster and back to her and she then punched it in for the goal. That score came at the 29:30 mark and gave CSU the 2-0 lead.

CSU dominated play for much of the second half, out-shooting the visitors 12-2. Catawba had one goal disallowed on an offsides call midway through the period that would have tightened the margin to one. Neither of the other two shots they took in the half were on goal.

In all, CSU had 23 shots on the day, and despite the two scores, Webster was stellar between the posts for the Indians as she collected 11 saves. Her counterpart, CSU's Monica Sanchez, collected two saves, both of which came in the first half.

CSU held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks and also in fouls, by an 11-10 count. The only caution of the game came at the 61:42 mark when Catawba's Lena Suarez was given a yellow card after a foul.

CSU will face Carson-Newman for the third straight year in post-season play after the Eagles defeated UNC Pembroke 1-0 on Sunday in the other half of the Southeast Regional. The Lady Cougars defeated the Eagles 3-0 in the first round last season fell to C-N in Jefferson City, TN, in 2006. CSU defeated the Eagles 6-0 on the road earlier this season on September 14. This is the second consecutive regional final for CSU as they look to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for the second straight year.

The third and quarterfinal rounds will be played in Pensacola, FL, after West Florida defeated Tampa 2-0 on Sunday. UWF will face Rollins in the South Regional final on Friday after Rollins defeated Florida Tech 4-0 on Sunday. Game times for the third round will be announced as soon as they become available.

Lady Braves Fall To #18 Carson-Newman, 1-0

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Brittany Moore scored the game’s lone goal in the 26th minute of play and No. 18 Carson-Newman rode a four-save shutout by Lauren MacKenzie to a 1-0 victory over 15th-ranked UNCP in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday afternoon at McCown Field.

With the loss, UNCP finished their record-breaking 2008 campaign with a 19-3-1 record. Carson-Newman (16-5-1) will play in the regional final on Friday in Tampa, Fla., where they will face Columbus State (20-3-1) – a 2-0 winner over Catawba on Sunday in the other regional semifinal.

“I’m not going to blame our performance on the weather. We simply ran into a very good Carson Newman team that played better than us today,” said UNCP head coach Lars Andersson. “I don’t know if the girls were overwhelmed at the situation or if the cold got to them, but I take full responsibility. Carson-Newman came out ready to play and wanted it more.”

With first half shots at a premium, Carson-Newman got the only break of the game when Moore found space on the left side of the penalty area and fired a shot past UNCP goalkeeper Whitney Beverly. Just one more shot would follow the remainder of the period and the Eagles took a 5-4 shot disparity, as well as a one-goal lead, into the intermission.

Carson-Newman enjoyed spurts of dominance in the second half and outshot the Braves 8-1 through the first 19 minutes of the latter period. The Black and Gold mustered just four shots (two on goal) in the second half, with the Eagles tallying 11 strikes, seven of which came on goal.