Columbia Captures Championship Birth

WALESKA, Ga. - The higher seeds prevailed in the Appalachian Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Tournament semifinal games at Reinhardt University's Ken White Soccer Field on Thursday afternoon. The No. 6-seeded Columbia College Fighting Koalas beat the seventh-seeded Bryan College Lady Lions, 1-0, before the top-seeded Reinhardt Lady Eagles, the hosts, defeated the No. 4-seeded Union College Lady Bulldogs, 2-1.

During the opening game, the only scoring came when Columbia's Ashley Forehand knocked in a goal off an assist from Heather Moore with 12 minutes left in the first half. The Fighting Koalas outshot Bryan by an 18-5 margin. The Lady Lions' Stephanie Gagnon made eight saves.

Reinhardt got out to a 2-0 lead in the day's second match, scoring in the 41st and 67th minutes. Union's Helen Weber came up with a goal in the 74th minute, but the Lady Eagles were able to hold on for the win. Krista Barikos scored both goals for Reinhardt while Alex Mahan added an assist. The Lady Eagles had a 23-7 advantage in shots.

Columbia (10-6-5) and the Lady Eagles (13-3-2) meet on Saturday in the AAC Tournament championship game for the conference's automatic bid to the NAIA national event. Match time is set for 2 p.m. at Reinhardt.

Article Provided By AAC Conference.