CSU Moves a Step Closer to PBC Title with 6-3 Win over Montevallo

Columbus, GA - Columbus State senior Rachel Walthall staked the Cougars to a 2-0 lead early in the contest and the team coasted in for a 6-3 win over Montevallo in the final regular-season home game of the year on Wednesday. The two early scores were fitting for Walthall as she and four other senior players were recognized prior to the contest as a part of Senior Night activities.
Walthall's first goal came before the fans had gotten comfortable in their seats. She gained possession of the ball outside the box and then played it past a defender down the left side and punched a shot past UM keeper Alyssa Maxwell just 47 seconds into play.  She added her second goal 13 minutes later as she got a nice feed from Stephanie Lowery and headed a shot past Maxwell to make it 2-0 at the 13:49 mark.
Gina Goforth got in on the scoring action in the 20th minute as she juked a defender and then used some fancy footwork to get past a charging Maxwell and was able to walk the ball into the net for the 3-0 lead. The Cougars kept that margin until the 42nd minute when Stephanie Parrish made it 4-0, beating new Falcons keeper Margret Ingthorsdottir after getting behind the defense. That goal was the last of the half for CSU as they took a comfortable margin into the break.
Montevallo broke the scoring ice in the 63rd minute as Ally Larese scored on a free kick after a CSU foul. Mary Mancin, who had replaced starter Kelly Nimmo at the beginning of the half, allowed the goal as she got a late break on the kick. 
CSU would add two more goals in the 72nd and 75th minutes to run out to a 6-1 lead. Stephanie Lowery made it 5-1 at the 71:28 mark as she finished a well-executed play that began with a Melinda Bush serve which led to a K.C. MacEachern feed to the foot of Lowery for the score. Kelsey Bass got the final score of the night for CSU as she took a nice pass from Lowery and knocked it home for the 6-1 lead.
The CSU reserves did not finish the game well, however, as the Falcons added a pair of late scores. Natalie Martineau scored at the 77:43 mark on a shot that somehow got through CSU keeper Michelle Krengel. Krengel appeared to have the save secured, but the ball somehow slipped through her hands and rolled in for the score. Erin Duncan got the last score as she powered in a shot from point-blank range off a nice pass from Jenna Kuzemski to make it 6-3 in the 89th minute.
The three goals allowed by CSU mark the first time this season the Cougars have allowed multiple goals in a game, and almost equaled the total allowed in the entire season prior to the contest. CSU had allowed just four goals on the year prior to the game. The three-spot by Montevallo is the most goals scored by an opponent since the Cougars fell 5-0 at West Florida during the regular season last year. 
Walthall finished the contest with two goals to lead CSU, while Lowery registered a goal and two assists. CSU led in shots by a 17-14 margin in the game and were out-shot by the visitors in the second half by a 9-5 count. CSU had a commanding 10-2 lead in corner kicks. Nimmo recorded five saves in the first half for CSU, while Mancin had three saves in her almost 23 minutes of work, and Krengel saved two shots in her 22 minutes of time. Maxwell had three saves for UM, while Ingthorsdottir had two. 
CSU takes to the road this weekend for its final two regular-season contests. The Cougars play at Florida Tech on Friday at 4 PM and then will end the season on Sunday at Flagler in a 1 PM contest. The Cougars (14-1-2, 7-1-1) have a slight lead over Armstrong Atlantic State in the Peach Belt Conference standings as the Pirates (11-3-3, 7-2) have their final PBC contest at Flagler on Thursday. A loss by AASU on Thursday or a CSU win at Flagler on Sunday will clinch the regular season title for the fourth consecutive year for the Cougars.