Friday, August
31, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ga. --- This much anticipated region match-up lived up to
its billing Friday night as Tusculum blanked host Columbus State 1-0 in
the night-cap of day one action of the Lady Cougar Classic.
The match, slated to begin at
7:30 p.m., was delayed numerous times due to rain and lightning in the
area. The contest, pairing two teams
that advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament a year ago started at 9:45 p.m.
and ended just before midnight.
Pioneer
goalkeeper Tori Hadjopoulos was
stellar between the pipes as she posted her second shutout of the season as she
faced 31 shots on the night, while recording 14 saves.
The
only scoring in the contest came at the 37:02 mark as Ally Mathews got
a feed from Melanie Webb inside the right side of the box and hammered it
past CSU goalkeeper Monica Sanchez
for the eventual match-winner.
CSU
(1-2), especially in the last 20 minutes of the contest, had the ball on Tusculum's side
of the field, but the Pioneers hung tough and eventually kicked the ball out
past mid-field with under a minute to play to seal the victory.
Tusculum
will face fourth-ranked Tampa (3-0) on Sunday in a rematch of last year's
national quarterfinal. The contest will
take place at 11 a.m. on the CSU campus to wrap up the final day of the Lady
Cougar Invitational.
- TC -