2011 Regular Season Wrap Up
Columbia, S.C. -The Columbia College Fighting Koalas women’s soccer team finished their most successful season in school history in 2011, recording a number of impressive firsts for the program, both as a team and individually.
After a 7-11 record in 2010, the Koalas came back to campus in August hoping to improve on the then-record mark of seven wins in 2011. A loss at home to Emmanuel College, 2-1, opened the season, before Columbia got into the win column, reeling off three successive victories. First, Columbia comfortably took care of Mountain State University at Younts Stadium, 7-0, before traveling to Georgia to take on Brewton Parker College, who the Koalas dispatched 2-0. A 5-0 home victory over Spelman College followed, with Heather Moore scoring the first hat-trick of the year for Columbia in the win.
With a record of 3-1-0, Columbia next faced two familiar adversaries in Converse College and Southern Wesleyan University, games which ended in 1-1 and 0-0 draws, respectively. Moore added her second hat-trick of the season in the next game, on the road against Warren Wilson College, in a 4-2 win which moved the Fighting Koalas record to 4-1-2.
After a successful block of non-conference games, Columbia opened their conference schedule with an impressive 1-1 draw against AAC pre-season favorite Tennessee Wesleyan College. A disappointing 4-2 loss to Montreat College followed, before Columbia again won three successive games to improve their overall record to 7-2-3. The Peace Pacers were the first victim of the Koalas trio of triumphs, as Columbia ran out 10-1 winners, with Clare Williamson picking up a season-high four assists on the day. A 1-0 conference victory against Bryan College followed, before Columbia traveled to USC-Beaufort and won 5-1, with Williamson collecting a hat-trick in the rout.
Conference took precedence again in mid-October, as Columbia traveled to Bluefield College to collect a 1-1 draw, and then lost 2-1 at Milligan College. A 2-1 loss to Piedmont College, followed by a 4-2 loss at eventual AAC champions Reinhardt University meant the Koalas had a 7-5-4 record, with two games remaining in the regular season.
Columbia hosted St. Andrews University, a future AAC member in the first of the two games. The Fighting Koalas picked up a decisive 3-0 victory, with Jessica Martinez scoring a hat-trick, a win which would have significant ramifications concerning milestones for Columbia. Not only did the victory mean that a new record for wins in a season was set, with eight, but also guaranteed the first winning season in program history. An overtime loss against visiting Union College 3-2 was the final result of the regular season for the Koalas, resulting in a regular season record of 8-6-4.
Individually, there were multiple players receiving NAIA statistical recognition on the national level. Clare Williamson finished 4th in the nation with 16 assists, 6th in assists per game (0.89), and 36th in total points (34). Jessica Martinez finished 43rd in goals with 13, and 45th in total points (32). Heather Moore also ranked nationally, finishing 19th in shots per game (5.13), as well as 31st in shots on goal per game (2.63). In goal, Elise Grider ended 26th in saves per game (6.88), while finishing 30th in the country in total saves (110).
To prove the increased progress of the program, the Fighting Koalas have already signed two recruits for the 2012 season to replace the outgoing senior class of 2011 (Heather Shumpert, Vicki May Workman, Jessie Rucker). Columbia has already jumped ahead signing two recruits before November- Alexa Zolman, of Wilson, N.C. and Hayley Faruqui, of Madison, AL are the first to join the recruiting class for fall 2012.
Columbia opens the conference tournament on Saturday, November 5th against Milligan College in Tennessee, in a 4 PM contest.
Article submitted by Assistant Coach, Robert Hunter.