COLUMBIA, S.C. - After a delay and venue change, the No. 20-ranked CIU men's soccer team took a short trip down the road to face Columbia College (S.C.). The Rams hold a 2-0 record against the Koalas since Columbia's first year as a program in 2021. CIU extended this streak to 3-0 and now holds a 16-2 scoring record against Columbia College. 

Scoring Summary: The ball went back and forth between defensive ends for the first few minutes of the contest. The first shot came after Gabriel Rokov passed the ball upfield to Paul Schuette, who fought off a Koala defender to launch the ball to Sohya Yamamoto. Yamamoto raced passed the Koala backline and found the back of the net to put CIU on the board (6:09). 

The Rams continued to put pressure on Columbia College's defense and keeper, taking six more shots before the contest's first twenty minutes. Play evened out from there as the ball made its way up and down the field between Rams and Koalas. Columbia College evened out the score with ten minutes left in the half (1-1). CIU was rewarded with three more corner kicks from Lucas Galdino before the halftime buzzer but could not take the lead before the frame ended. 

The Rams came out ready for the second half, with Yamamoto taking a shot and Romulo Barreto taking two corner kicks in the first minute. After a yellow card to each team, Yamamoto fought off Koala defenders once again to give the Rams a 2-1 lead (54:44). Almost exactly one minute later, Michael Abongo scored his first goal of the season with a header off a free kick from Barreto to extend CIU's lead even more. 

Almost fifteen minutes later, Barreto took a rocket of a shot towards the goal, but the Koala backline deflected it to prevent another Rams goal. Matias Breit remained solid in the goal, picking up another save to keep CIU's sizable lead. Barreto continued his impressive offensive year, scoring his sixth goal of the season at the 76-minute mark (4-1). 

Galdino joined in on the fun, scoring a goal of his own outside the 18-yard box after a deflected Rams' corner kick. However, CIU continued to put on the pressure. Zion Atkinson entered the game and scored his first goal of the season off the rebound of his own shot (6-1). 

The Rams extended their win streak with five with a 6-1 victory over the Koalas. CIU outshot Columbia College 25-9, with 15 shots being on goal for the Rams. Both teams came out aggressive, collecting 15 total fouls and five yellow cards. 

What Coach Bill Brindley is saying: "Happy we were able to get things cleaned up after the first half. This is a much improved Columbia team and, we are going to continue to be challenged as we move deeper into the conference schedule."