Columbus State soccer looks for payback against Carson-Newman
Lady Cougars face Carson-Newman in regional final today
By KEVIN PRICE
kprice@ledger-enquirer.com
It has been six years, but Columbus State soccer coach Jay Entlich hasn't forgotten.
Melissa Morris scored a goal with 0.3 seconds left to lift Carson-Newman to a 3-2 win over Entlich's Lady Cougars in the 2009 NCAA Southeast Regional final.
The two teams meet again Friday afternoon in another regional final. Carson-Newman, the top seed in the regional at 19-2, is once again the host.
"We are excited about traveling up to Tennessee," Entlich said after third-ranked CSU beat North Georgia last Sunday in the regional semifinal. "Carson-Newman has been a great host to us in the past.
"We kind of owe them one from many, many years ago. They got us really late in a game with a couple seconds left. I haven't forgotten about that one."
CSU did get some revenge during the 2010 regular season, when it routed Carson-Newman 6-1 in Columbus. But the two teams have not played since.
The match is set to start at 2:30 p.m. Friday. Barry and Tampa will face off in the South Regional final at noon.
The winners will meet in
the NCAA quarterfinals on Sunday at 1 p.m.
All of the matches will be played at McCown Field in Jefferson City, Tenn.
"We've got to get ready for a very talented Carson-Newman," Entlich said.
"There is a reason they are the No. 1 seed. We are going in as underdogs. That is nice thing sometimes to go into a match with somebody else as the favorite.
'We got to dig deep and fight.
"We will be on the road, but sometimes that can be a good thing."
Both teams head into the match on long winning streaks. CSU (19-2-1) has won 16 straight. No. 13 Carson-Newman has won 12 straight.
CSU beat Lenoir-Rhyne last season in the regional final, the Lady Cougars' third regional championship but the first since 2008.
Kevin Price, Follow Kevin on Twitter @lesports.
This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 7:49 PM with the headline "Columbus State soccer looks for payback against Carson-Newman ."