Columbia, Mo. – The Columbia College men's soccer team was back on the field tonight when they played host to the Lindenwood University-Belleville (Ill.) Lynx in their first conference match of the season. The Cougars, who were able to defeat McPherson (Kan.) College on Saturday in a 1-0 double overtime victory, extended their winning streak to three straight games after defeating the Lynx by a final score of 1-0 to improve to 4-2 on the season.
The Cougars came out in the first half of the game and controlled the tempo early. The Lynx had a tough time keeping up with Columbia College and were forced to commit several fouls in the first few minutes of the game. Although they created several scoring opportunities in the half they were unable to find the back of the net and the score remained tied at zero heading into the halftime break. The Cougars were outshot 5-4 in the half but all four of Columbia's shots were on goal.
In the second half of the match, both sides came out and created scoring chances early. The Cougars finally were able to break into the scoring column eight minutes into the half when Joey Koetting received a ball over the top from Michael Mayberry and outran the Lynx defender before slipping it past the Lindenwood-Belleville keeper and into the back of the net for his third goal in three games. The Lynx did their best to get back into the match as the half progressed but were unable to find the back of the net as the Cougars clinched their first conference win of the season.
Nicolau Neto was in goal for Columbia as the senior notched his fourth shutout of the season.
The Cougars are back in action on Friday, September 15th when they travel to Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) University in an AMC matchup. The game is set to kick off at 7 p.m.
