Koalas Clinch AAC First Round Bye with Victory

The Columbia College Koalas secured a bye in the first round of the conference tournament with a 2-0 victory over the Johnson University Royals on Thursday afternoon at Younts Stadium.

For the third game in a row, the Koalas scored early in the match to both set the tone and help settle their nerves against a hard working Royals unit.

Jordan Myers got her third game winning assist in a row, but this time it was to Elizabeth Schossler, who fired home from Myers' cutback for her first goal as a Koala in the 8th minute.

Columbia peppered the Johnson goal with 13 total shots in the first half, with Taylor Sage hitting the crossbar and Brooke Piscitello firing just over, but the Royals' keeper was able to repel everything that she faced in the rest of the first 45 minutes.

After a balanced start to the second half, the Koalas made it 2-0 in the 55th minute via Madison Stewart.  Josie Vega's cross from the right hand side eluded everyone except Stewart in the box, and she was able to control the ball and finish with her left foot to double the Columbia lead.

Johnson were able get a few more shots off in the second half than the first, but Koala goalkeeper Breanna Hilton was equal to the Royals attack as she played the second stanza and finished with four saves.

Amorie Kostelak had the shutout in the first half and finished with one save, while Columbia recorded their fourth straight shutout and sixth of the season in the win.

The Koalas will travel to Athens, TN on Saturday for their final regular season game when they face the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs at 2:30PM.