Columbus State women’s soccer releases 2017 schedule

Columbus State University head women’s soccer coach Jay Entlich has released the Lady Cougars’ 2017 schedule.

Columbus State, the winners of three consecutive Peach Belt Conference and Southeast Region titles, will play 18 games, with 10 coming against conference foes and four versus teams ranked in the final NSCAA Top 25 poll of 2016.

“We have a lot of very good teams on our schedule,” head coach Jay Entlich said. “Our goal every year is to create a schedule that will challenge us and prepare us for the postseason.”

The Lady Cougars will open the season with a bang, taking on Grand Valley State at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky., on Sept. 1. CSU and Grand Valley met for the national championship in 2015 and in the national semifinals last season.

Columbus State will host its annual CSU Collegiate Invitational Sept. 8 and 10 at the Walden Soccer Complex. The Lady Cougars will face Barry and Nova Southeastern in their first home action.

Two more postseason rematches hit the schedule later in the month, as CSU hosts North Georgia on Sept. 20 and West Florida eight days later. A 2-0 victory over UNG gave the Lady Cougars the 2016 Southeast Region title, and the Lady Cougars followed with a dramatic 2-1 double-overtime win over UWF in the national quarterfinals.

In total, Columbus State will play eight regular season matches at the Walden Soccer Complex.

The Lady Cougars returns 12 players from last year’s team that posted a 21-3-0 record. Fourteen newcomers will join the fold for Entlich, who is entering his 14th season at Columbus State.

2017 Schedule (bold indicates conference matchup)

Sept. 8, 3 p.m. - vs Barry

Sept. 10, 10 a.m. - vs Nova Southeastern

Sept. 13, 2 p.m. - at Florida Tech

Sept. 16, 1 p.m. - at USC Aiken

Sept. 20, 6 p.m. - vs North Georgia

Sept. 23, 1 p.m. - vs UNC Pembroke

Sept. 28, 4 p.m. - vs West Florida

Sept. 30, 3 p.m. - at Lander

Oct. 4, 6 p.m. - at Clayton State

Oct. 7, 1 p.m. - at Georgia Southwestern

Oct. 11, 5 p.m. - vs Young Harris

Oct. 14, 4 p.m. - at Francis Marion

Oct. 18, 4 p.m. - vs Belmont Abbey

Oct. 21, 1 p.m. - vs Flagler

Oct. 25, 4 p.m. - at Tusculum

Oct. 28, 1 p.m. - at Georgia College

This story was originally published July 18, 2017 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Columbus State women’s soccer releases 2017 schedule."