Columbia, Mo. – The 17th ranked Columbia College men's soccer team was back in action when they played host to the Williams Baptist (Ark.) College Eagles in the AMC Quarterfinals. The Cougars were able to defeat the Eagles by a finals score of 3-0 to improve to 15-2-2 on the season and 12-0-1 in in conference play.
Prior to the match, the American Midwest Conference announced the Academic All-Conference awards. To be eligible for the Academic All-Conference honors, student-athletes must be in their second semester at their AMC institution and have at least a 3.0 GPA. For their efforts in the classroom, Juan Pablo Agredo, Matija Ceraj, Carter Cox, Joey Koetting, and Matheus Lima were all recognized. In addition, Joey Koetting was also recognized as a member of the AMC Champions of Character team.
The Cougars came out in the first half of the game and controlled the possession early in the period. It took just 12 minutes for Columbia to get on the board as Zion Hartzler made a run down the sideline and played a ball to Adam Du Toit. Du Toit calmly flicked the ball to Nick Horne who was able to volley it out of the air hitting a rocket into the right side of the goal for his fourth goal of the season to give Columbia a 1-0 lead. The Eagles did their best to get back into the game as the half progressed but were unable to find the back of the net as the score remained 1-0 heading into the halftime break.
The Cougars were able to add a second goal to their lead just seven minutes into the second half when Matija Ceraj was able to head in his fifth tally of the season. Matheus Lima had the assist on the goal as he played a ball into the center of the box from the right side of the field finding Ceraj near the penalty spot who was able to push his header past the Eagles keeper and into the back of the net to give Columbia a 2-0 lead. Brett Bales was able to add one final goal to the Cougars lead with just under two minutes to play when he received a ball 25 yards out from goal and blasted a shot into the top left corner of the net to solidify the Cougars spot in the AMC Semifinals.
Nicolau Neto was in goal for Columbia as the senior made two saves in his ninth solo shutout of the season.
The Cougars are back in action on Tuesday, November 7th when they host Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) University in the AMC Semifinals. Columbia College defeated the Trojans by a final score of 1-0 in their last matchup on September 30th. The game is set to start at 6 p.m. on R. Marvin Owen's Field.
