Spartanburg Methodist College Picks Up First NAIA Win in Rout of Columbia College

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Spartanburg Methodist College overcame an early 1-0 deficit to score five unanswered goals on its way to a 5-1 win over host Columbia College for its first win in the NAIA era on Tuesday night.

The five goals are the most since a six-goal effort on November 19, 2023, against Southwest Virginia Community College. The most in a road game since the Pioneers recorded seven goals at USC Salkehatchie on September 17, 2022.

"We've trained hard, we've gotten some girls healthy and it showed tonight," said head coach Kyle Campbell. "I asw that we had some resiliency as we overcame some adversity. We went down 1-0; battled back, got up 2-1 at halftime and we talked at the break how do we take care of the game. We did just that, we put three away in the seccond half and controlled the remainder of the contest." 

On the night, it was a complete team effort for the visitors who came together for the win. Down 1-0 after giving up a goal in the 6th minute, sisters Addie and C.J. Hawkins teamed up for the equalizer in the 22nd minute to knot the score at 1. Nearly nine minutes later, C.J. put SMC ahead 2-1 in the 31st minute. 

After going into the halftime break with a 2-1 lead, the Pioneers offense came away with three more goals in the second 45 minutes. Addie Hawkins scored her second goal of the contest in the 58th minute, followed by goals by Kaylee Damsen and Kennedy Olheiser in the 63rd and 65th minute, respectively. 

For the contest, the Pioneers posted a 11-6 advantage in shots. SMC held the Koalas of Columbia without a shot in the final 45 minutes. SMC goalkeeper Ava Wilson made four saves for the win.

Next, Spartanburg Methodist College will be on the road on Saturday, August 31 to face Brewton-Parker College at 7 p.m. in Mount Vernon, Georgia.