COLUMBUS, Ga. – Clayton State (6-6-4, 3-5-2 PBC) hung with No. 3 Columbus State (15-0-1, 10-0-0 PBC) for more than a half before a second half burst fueled a 4-0 final score in a Peach Belt Conference Quarterfinal and NCAA Division II women's soccer game on Tuesday, October 30.
 
In a reprise of their regular season meeting, the first half proved to be a defensive battle as the teams managed just a combined three shots through the first 23 minutes. It would be the Cougars that would capitalize, however.
 
Leading scorer Olivia Jarrell put home her 16^th of the season off an assist from Madeline Goodfellow at the 23:22 mark. From there both clubs would fire off several shots but would not connect as they headed to the break with a one goal margin.
 
That would be a margin that would change rapidly in the second half. After more than 11 minutes of scoreless play Columbus State would triple their lead in a matter of minutes. With 57:26 gone by Amanda Murphy redirected a loose ball in front of the net that found its way home for a 2-0 advantage.
 
Less than a minute later it would be a three goal margin as the Cougars offense struck again. This time Jarrell would cross a ball that found the foot of Riley Clark, who deposited it at the 58:20 mark. That burst would be all the No. 3 team in the country would need but they would add a late goal as Parker Morgan found Abby Marmito at the 89:08 mark. From there they closed out the 4-0 quarterfinal victory.
 
The Cougars were led by solo scores from Murphy, Clark, Marmito and Jarrell while the later added an assist. Goodfellow and Morgan rounded out the offense with an assist apiece and Bria Riancho anchored the defense in goal. She played all 90 minutes, making one save to lock down the shutout and move to 15-0-1.
 
Clayton State managed eight shots, two on goal, and was led by junior defender Manoly Baquerizo (Guayaquil, Ecuador) with three of those. Freshman midfielder Natalie Barbara (Ballarat, Australia) and graduate defender Hikari Taguchi (Saitama, Japan) notched the shots on goal.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Hannah Richards (Huddersfield, England) went the distance and allowed all four scores. She rounds out her first season in the Orange and Blue with a 6-6-4 overall record.  
 
The Lakers close out the 2018 campaign with a 6-6-4 overall record and 3-5-2 mark in the PBC.