COLUMBIA, S.C. - CIU women's soccer hosted their first Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contest of the season with an intense matchup against cross-town rival Columbia College (S.C.). The Rams quickly took a 2-0 lead, but the Koalas rallied for the remainder of the game to force a draw. CIU is now 3-1-1 and 2-0-1 in conference play. 

Scoring Summary: CIU's offense was on the attack as soon as the whistle blew. Callie Rowe took her first corner kick just three minutes into the match, which Chloe Battaglia ricocheted off the crossbar. Mazzie Leos took this opportunity to take a head-on shot that the Koala keeper blocked. Lily Jackson took her first shot of the night five minutes later, followed by two more Rams' corner kicks. Amber McKinley, off a corner from Jackson, found the back of the net to put the Rams on the board (16:49). 

Callie Rowe scored her first goal of the season a few minutes later, again assisted by Jackson, to give CIU a 2-0 advantage. Forty seconds later, the Koalas got on the board after a penalty kick. CIU continued to be aggressive in the Koalas' defensive end, taking five more corner kicks and three more shots–two from Marisa Dill and one from Leos. The Rams outshot the Koalas 9-3 in the first half, but both teams showed pressure with eight total fouls. 

The second half kicked off in the Rams' defensive end, with the Koalas taking their fourth shot of the game less than a minute into the period. CIU's first shot of this half came from Leos, which went out high and to the right. Another corner followed this from Rowe that the Rams were unable to capitalize on. 

Gabby Fitzgerald made her first appearance of the game (71:01) and put a shot on target less than a minute later that went wide left. Just four minutes later, Columbia College tied up the game (75:40) and continued to put pressure on the Rams' defense. Hailey Resetar picked up her first save of the half to keep the score even. CIU played the ball back down the field, where Leos took two hard shots that were both deflected by the Koala's back-line. McKinley was able to fire off another shot that went high over the post with just under ten seconds remaining, and the game ended in a draw.  

CIU's offense had an impressive outing, recording 14 shots and 11 corner kicks. Leos led the team with five, while McKinley and Dill recorded two. Resetar picked up three saves despite allowing two goals. 

Hear from Callie Rowe postgame:

Up Next: CIU remains at home for their next AAC contest, hosting Milligan University on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 5 PM.