No. 2 Columbus State Edges Flagler in Conference Tourney Final
COLUMBUS, Ga. – A Flagler College foul in the box with 45 seconds left to go in regulation set up Vanessa Aviles’ penalty kick that gave No. 2 (United Soccer Coaches Top 25) Columbus State University a 1-0 win in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Women’s Soccer championship match Sunday afternoon at the Walden Soccer Complex.
Columbus State won its 13th consecutive match and improved to 19-0-1 overall. It was the Lady Cougars’ 10th conference tournament title and second in a row. Flagler slipped to 8-3-6.
Columbus State locked up hosting one of the two NCAA Division II Southeast Regional sites and Flagler will wait and see if it earns one of the at-large berths. The entire field will be unveiled tomorrow at 7 p.m. on ncaa.com.
Ella Gembicki had dispossessed the ball from a Columbus State player in the box and started to dribble the ball away when a CSU player cut in front, creating a collision, to draw the foul. Aviles fired a shot into the lower left corner for the lone goal of the match.
The Lady Cougars out-shot the Saints 31-5 as Emma Beddow had six and Aviles added five. Paige Churchill led Flagler with two shots. The Saints did not have a shot on frame.
Heidi Harris recorded the shutout for Columbus State while Henley Grunst finished with eight saves. The Lady Cougars had a 17-1 advantage in corner kicks.
All-PBC Tournament members from Flagler were Andrea Fernandez, Grace Simon, and Samantha St. Pierre.