A late goal by Ellie Barnes in the 84th minute tried to spark a comeback for the University of Mount Olive but they fell to No. 26 Columbus State 4-2 on Friday night in Columbus, Ga. in non-conference women's soccer. The match was the season opener for both teams.
Gigi Ramirez had a very important stop midway through the first half when the Trojans were called for a foul in the box in the 23rd minute resulting in a penalty kick opportunity for the Cougars. Ramirez put a stop to the early scoring attempt and the score remained deadlocked.
Columbus State's Taylor Marks broke the tie in the 26th minute as she snuck a ball past the Trojan keeper to the right side of the goal off the ball from Mady Janowitz and the Cougars led 1-0 with 25:50 on the scoreboard.
Mount Olive fought back quickly though and did not let the lead stand for long. Eight seconds into the 30th minute Jess Hickey scored her first goal of the season to put the Trojans back even.
The Cougars regained the lead before halftime 30 seconds into the 36th minute by adding Tori Hood's first goal of the season. Claire Belay gave Columbus St. a 3-1 lead just before halftime in the 44th minute.
Both teams reminded in a battle for the better part of the second period where neither team was able to notch a goal for 36 minutes. Columbus St. found the back of the net in the 82nd minute off an attempted clearance by the Trojans and extended the lead to three for the Cougars 4-1.
Mount Olive in the 84th minute was on the verge of making the game interesting when Barnes beat the running Cougars keeper to bring the Trojans to within two. However, the goal was the last shot in the contest recorded by the visiting eleven as they fell 4-2.
Six different Trojans recorded shots and five of those shots were on goal. The Power sisters Lauren Power and Kristin Power had the two assists on goals for Mount Olive. In goal Ramirez saved 14-of-18 shots on goal on the night.
Nicole Corcione led the Cougars in shots and shots on goal with five and four respectively.
Mount Olive remains on the road where they will play Lincoln Memorial in a non-conference match-up in Columbus, Ga. on Sunday. Match time is set for 10 a.m.