Bobcats ready for round two

    The GCSU soccer team is in the semifinals of the Peach Belt Conference tournament after its first playoff win in school history.  The Bobcats had a fantastic regular season, and are continuing their great play in the postseason.
    The team closed the season winning seven of its last eight games, including seven in a row before a loss to No. 5 Columbus State University to end the season.
    On Oct. 17, the Bobcats played their final road game of the season, and it was an exciting one.  Clayton State University was the opponent, and the Bobcats got a goal in the final minutes from junior midfielder Beth Coughlin to win 5-4.  GCSU had a 2-goal lead twice, only to see CSU tie the game at 2-2 and 4-4.  Junior Hayley Ferrell scored her thirteenth goal on a penalty kick to open the scoring, and sophomore Jamie Nevin added her sixth.
    The Bobcats returned home for their final three games of the season, beginning with Newberry College on Oct. 20.  The game was a hard-fought defensive battle, but GCSU prevailed 1-0 on yet another goal by Ferrell, midway through the second half, with an assist from Nevin, the team leader in that category.  The win pushed the Bobcats’ winning streak to six.
    After the game, Coach Robert Parr talked about closing the season at home.
    “We have spent a lot of time on the road, on unfamiliar fields, sleeping in hotels,” he said.  “We have played five games in ten days, and we have to get well physically and mentally.”
    The coach was also proud of the way his team battled against a scrappy opponent.
    “We were just out of rhythm tonight, they played us tough, but it was great to see us get a win without our best effort.”
    The Bobcats continued their amazing run through conference play when they defeated North Georgia College and State University 4-0 on Oct. 24.  This was the last of several dominating performances by the Bobcats this season.  NGCSU had few chances to score, and the Bobcats made the most of theirs, at least in the second half.  Junior forward Jeni Day doubled her scoring on the season with her third and fourth goals to begin the second half.  Sophomore midfielder Erika Kolodin scored her first goal of the season to push the lead to 3-0, and Ferrell added her sixteenth to close the scoring.
    The final game of the regular season matched the red-hot Bobcats against the highly-ranked Cougars of Columbus State University.  The Bobcats fought hard, but the Cougars ultimately showed why they went undefeated in the PBC this season, winning 3-0.
    “We knew we were locked in to our playoff spot, so we couldn’t play ourselves up or down,” Parr said.  “So we just wanted to go out and see if we could match up with them, and they showed why they are a great team.”
    The Bobcats were indeed “locked in” to fourth position in the PBC, after going 5-3 in conference play, which set the team up with the first home playoff game in school history.  However, there was little time for celebrating with a tough road ahead in the playoffs.
    “We certainly got a tough draw, with Clayton and (likely) Columbus again,” said Parr.
    In the eight-team playoff, the fourth seed Bobcats were matched against the fifth seed Clayton State team.  After the high-scoring affair just two weeks earlier, the Bobcats knew they faced a tough test from a team with revenge on their minds.  The Bobcats passed the test with flying colors.  Sophomore midfielder Daria Owen blasted a perfect shot after a penalty from 20 yards out, giving the CSU keeper no chance to stop it.  Freshman midfielder Kayla Emerson added her second goal of the season, and the Bobcats held the dangerous CSU offense in check all game with their speedy, solid defense.  The 2-0 win sets up a rematch with Columbus State on Friday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. in Columbus, Ga.
    Parr talked about the opportunity to avenge last week’s lost.
    “We will definitely make some adjustments,” he said.  “We have a few lineups we can use that may work better this time.”
    If these adjustments work, and if the Bobcats can upset the Cougars this time around, the conference final awaits.  If not, it has still been an amazing season for the team, and the future is bright for GCSU soccer.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 1 2007. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry