Koalas drop close contest to Tigers

The Columbia College Koalas tasted defeat for the first time this season in tightly contested match against the visiting Brenau Tigers on Saturday evening at Younts Stadium.

Coming off of their first complete game of the season, the Koalas welcomed an in-form Brenau team who had started off their AAC slate with consecutive 3-0 victories against Johnson and Bryan, respectively.

The match was a battle throughout, with both teams bringing plenty of work rate and energy without truly creating many quality opportunities.  In the first half, Columbia keeper Amorie Kostelak was forced into one quality save while Jordan Smith was relatively untroubled in goal for Brenau.

It took until the 73rd minute for the breakthrough, as a free kick trickled into the six yard box and was deflected in by a Tigers player to make the score 1-0. Despite pressure for the rest of the game, including freshman Summer Dockstader hitting the post off a free kick, the Koalas were unable to find the equalizer and eventually succumbed to their first loss of the season. 

Especially impressive for the Koalas in the match were all of the members of the defensive line, including Lakelee Aldrich, Kylie Stewart, Adrianna Machado, Kianna Dodge, and Josie Vega, as well as a standout performance in central midfield from Elizabeth Schossler.

Columbia returns to action on Wednesday when they host the Montreat College Cavaliers at 4:30PM.