Columbia, Mo. – This afternoon the seventh ranked Columbia College women's soccer team was back in action when they played host to the Siena Heights (Mich.) University Saints in the 2017 NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship Opening Round. The Cougars, who earned an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round after winning the AMC regular season title, were able to improve to 21-1 on the season after defeating the Saints by a final score of 1-0. With the win, Columbia College will advance to the final site of the 2017 NAIA Women's Soccer National Championships for the second straight season in Orange Beach, Alabama.
In the first half of the game, both sides came out and had a tough time controlling the possession early as the wet field conditions played a factor. The Cougars were able to settle in as the half progressed and created several scoring opportunities throughout most of the period but were unable to find the back of the net as the Saints keeper made three saves in the half. Siena Heights made a late push at the end of the half but the game remained scoreless with both teams heading into the locker room. Columbia College outshot the Saints 6-1 in the period.
The Cougars came out in the second half of the game and were able to find the back of the net just 11 minutes into the half when Kelsey Mirts found Laurie Frew in the box for her 24th goal of the season to give Columbia a 1-0 lead. Despite being down, the Saints battled back quickly and applied a heavy amount of pressure to the Columbia's back line but the Cougars were able to weather the storm as they kept the Saints out of the back of the net. Columbia was able to close out the game down the final stretch and solidified their spot in the NAIA National Championships in Orange Beach, Alabama.
Madison Boyken was in goal tonight for Columbia as the junior made four saves in her sixth solo shutout of the season.
The Cougars will be back on the field on Tuesday, November 28th when they travel to Orange Beach, Alabama, to take on the winner between Westmont (Calif.) and Eastern Oregon in the second round of the NAIA Women's Soccer National Championships. The game is set to start at 1:30 p.m.
