Columbia, Mo. – This afternoon the 21st ranked Columbia College women's soccer team was back in action when they played host to the Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) University Trojans in an AMC matchup. The Cougars were able to defeat the Trojans by a final score of 6-0 to improve to 7-3 on the season and 5-0 in conference play.
Columbia College came out in the first half and controlled the tempo early in the match. They were able to get on the board first just 10 minutes into the game when Molly Klein was able to finish off her team leading eighth goal of the season. Kelsey Mirts had the assist on Kleins goal as she received a ball over the top of the Trojans defense and quickly made a move around Hannibals keeper before finding Klein in the box who calmly placed it into the back of the empty net to give Columbia a 1-0 lead.
The Cougars were back at it again just six minutes later when Kelsey Mirts made a run in the box and beat several defenders. She was able to cut the ball back into the middle of the box and found Lucy Kinglsey in front of the goal who was able to put it into the back of the net for her fourth tally of the season. Molly Burke added a third goal for the Cougars with just under 19 minutes to play in the half when she finished off a pass from Samantha Bassler for her second goal of the season to give Columbia a 3-0 lead. The Cougars tried to add to their lead in the final minutes of the half but the score remained 3-0 heading into the halftime break. Columbia outshot the Trojans 22-2 in the half and had nine shots on target.
The Cougars came out in the second half and it took them just 10 minutes to extend their lead to 4-0 in the game. Samantha Bassler had the goal for Columbia as she was able to finish off a pass from Chloe Hall for her third goal of the season. The Cougars continued to push the tempo over the next few minutes and were able to add two more goals in the game as Chloe Hall picked up her first of the season to make the score 5-0 and then Kelsey Mirts finished off her sixth of the year to give the Cougars a 6-0 lead. The Trojans did their best to get back into the game but were unable to get anything going as Columbia closed out the contest to solidify their third straight win.
Kate Marshall and Erin Jones split time in goal tonight for the Cougars as the two combined to make two saves in the teams seventh shutout of the season.
The women's soccer team is back in action on Saturday, October 6th when they play host to the Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) University Lions in an AMC matchup. This will serve as the homecoming game with kick-off set for 1:30 p.m. on R. Marvin Owen's Field.
