Late Goal Lifts Lady Cougars Over Nova Southeastern
By CSU Sports Information
COLUMBUS - With less than one second on the clock, Riley Clark found a pass from Kimmy May inside the box and beat the goalkeeper to lift the Columbus State University women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Nova Southeastern Wednesday afternoon.
As the clock was ticking down, May streaked by Nova defenders down the near sideline. Her first cross attempt was blocked, but May recovered sending another through ball to Clark. The pass was on target as the shot crossed the goal line right before the final horn.
"We stole this one," commented head coach Jay Entlich. "I thought Nova Southeastern was the better team today, but give our girls credit for finding a way to pull this one out."
Nova Southeastern (10-1-1) dominated the first half outshooting CSU 11-5. Over the first 20 minutes of play, the Sharks fired off six shots, including three that had to be saved.
The Lady Cougars were able to get an attack going late in the half. Off a corner kick, CSU had three shot attempts, but nothing was able to get by the NSU defense.
Columbus State (7-6) played with more urgency in the second half controlling the pace of play. In the closing minutes, the Lady Cougars kept the pressure on the Sharks with five shots over the final 10 minutes, including Clark's game-winner.
Overall, the Sharks outshot the Lady Cougars 21-12 and held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Sara Halihodzic was excellent in net for Columbus State recording her first victory on the season. In the shutout effort, the sophomore made six saves against the top scoring team in the nation.
Columbus State will host USC Aiken Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Walden Soccer Complex to cap off Homecoming Week at CSU. A special pregame tailgate will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the complex.
Match Notes
• Riley Clark has now scored in six consecutive matches for the Lady Cougars.
• With the win, Columbus State snapped Nova Southeastern's 15-match regular season unbeaten streak.
• Prior to CSU's goal, Nova Southeastern hadn't allowed an opponent to score in over 635 minutes of action.
• It was the first shutout in Sara Halilhodzic's career.
• Halilhodzic tied a season-high in saves with six.