Pensacola, Fla. --- The University of West Florida women's soccer team advances to the third round of the NCAA Championship for the second year in a row and will take on South Region 1-seed Embry-Riddle (Fla.) in a neutral site at Walden Soccer Complex in Columbus, Ga.
 
A Look Back in the First and Second Round
The Argos scored three goals in two games to get passed No. 6 Lee in the first round and upset No. 2 Nova Southeastern in the second round.
 
In each game, the Argos got on the board in the 10^th minute against the Flames and Sharks and never let down the lead. Blair Cowan scored the game-winning goal against Lee (Nov. 10) off a 50-yard shot from downtown. She led the team with three shots followed by Manami Okada and Kileigh Whited to took two apiece.
 
The Argos continued the momentum against the Sharks in a 2-1 defeat (Nov. 12). Mya Swinton recorded her first start since Oct. 2 and found the back of the net off a deflection to get a quick 1-0 lead.
 
Just 12 minutes after, the Argos earned a free kick around the 40-yard line that Manami Okada stepped up to take. Okada hit Cowan perfectly in the box for an easy header to extend the lead 2-0. Cowan's back-to-back game goals puts her at 21 goals on the season – two goals shy of being tied as NCAA's leading scorer in Division I and Division II.
 
Goalkeeper Maciah Lipsey recorded six saves over the weekend.
 
UWF in the NCAA
In the teams 17^th appearance, the most by a current GSC team, the Argos have a record of 27-14-3.
 
The last time the Argos advanced to the quarterfinals was in 2018 after defeating Lee in penalty kicks in the third round.
 
This Week's Awards
Cowan was named the D2CCA South Region Player of the Year and placed on the D2CCA All-South Region First Team. Three other players were recognized and joins Cowan in the All-South Region First Team: Goalkeeper Maciah Lipsey, midfilder Manami Okada and defender Kileigh Whited.
 
D2CCA All-America awards will be announced November 30.
 
Four players landed on the Academic All-District Team that was selected by the College Sports Communicators: Cowan, Whited, Julia Comin and Kaytlyn Larsen.
 
Academic All-America student-athletes will be announced December 6.
 
Scouting the Embry-Riddle Eagles
The one-seeded Eagles enter the tournament undefeated with a 15-0-5 record. Out of the Sunshine State Conference, the Eagles won the conference title for the third year in a row.
 
Earning a first-round bye in the NCAA Championship, the Eagles took on SSC opponent Florida Southern who they tied in regular season 1-1 (Sep. 21). Seven weeks later, the teams meet up again but the Eagles took the win after a heroic three-goal second half to advance into the next round.
 
Embry-Riddle outshot Florida Southern 8-3 with three of their shots coming on target that were all saved. In the 72^nd minute, the Eagles began to score and hit three in nine minutes. Freshman, Ria Vlachos, scored her first goal of the season and Isabelle Navren scored the following two go-ahead goals to knock Florida Southern out of the tournament.
 
Forward, Marie Myhrvold Seim leads the team with nine goals and five assists. Four of her goals were game winners. In the last four games, she has been held to four shots, none have which fallen in the net. Isabelle Navren follows behind with eight goals along with five assists after her two-goal performance over the weekend.
 
Goalkeeper Oona Jokinen has recorded 19 consecutive starts and has played all minutes this season. The Eagles have recorded 11 shutouts. Holding her opponents to 10 goals, Jokinen has recorded 53 saves and has a 0.841 save percentage.
 
Argos vs. Eagle History
The Argos and Eagles have only played each other one win in history and that occurred last year for the NCAA Championship second round. The Argos were seeded three in the South Region and defeated 2-seeded Eagles 1-0 in overtime. After a scoreless 90 minutes, Cowan scored the golden goal in the 94^th minute.
 
The Argos outshot the Eagles 16-7 and had 7-3 edge shots on goal.
 
11 players who stepped on the pitch against Embry-Riddle last year return to the roster for the upcoming match.
 
Southeast Bracket
The winner of UWF and Embry-Riddle will take on the winner of the two remaining teams from the Southeast Region in the quarterfinals.
 
1-seed Columbus State (18-2-1) takes on 3-seed Flagler College (14-3-3) for the Southeast Region final Friday, Nov. 18.
 
Columbus State lost to Flagler in the Peach Belt Conference Championship (Nov. 4). The 1-0 win earned Flagler's fourth straight tournament title and gave Columbus State's first loss of the season. The goal occurred in the 81^st minute off a penalty kick that sophomore Andrea Fernandez stepped up to take.
 
About the Flagler Saints
Flagler is led by A. Fernandez, and she stands out from the rest as she has 20 goals and eight assists to her name. The team has scored a total of 44 goals. Following Fernandez is Josefine Nilsen with five goals, four assists and Elke Fernandez and Liz Hall with three goals and two assists each. The remaining goals are dispersed between nine players.
 
Three goalkeepers have stepped on the pitch for the Saints, but the squad is led by junior Madison North. In 19 starts and over 1,700 minutes played, North has recorded 74 saves and has allowed 18 goals against. She has a 0.804 save percentage.
 
For the second year in a row, A. Fernandez was announced as D2CCA Southeast Region Player of the Year and placed Southeast Region First Team. She was also named Peach Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
 
Six Saint players put on conference team. A. Fernandez and midfielder Emery Briggs were placed All-PBC First Team and placed on second team was Josefine Nilsen, Moa Arlebo, Chloe Byrne and Arianna Silva.
 
About Columbus State Cougars
The Cougars received their first loss of the season off a penalty kick in the Peach Belt Conference Championship final.
 
The Cougars took on 8-seed North Georgia in the first round of NCAA Championship (Nov. 11). Six goals occurred but the Cougars had a leg up on North Georgia 4-2. Graduate student Rachael Sweigard had a hat trick, and the Cougars leading scorer Emma Beddow had a goal herself.
 
The Cougars went on to take Southeast Region 5-seed Lenoir-Rhyne and just got through in a 1-0 win. In the 80^th minute, Clayton, Ga. native scored the game-winning goal an her fifth of the season.
 
Beddow leads the team with 19 goals and seven assists followed by Sweigard with 17 goals and six assists. Junior Faith Knoeddler has scored double digit goals (10) along with two assists to have the third most points on the team.
 
Three players landed on All-Southeast Region First Team: Beddow, Sweigard and defender Carley Canzoneri.
 
Canzoneri was named Peach Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year and All-PBC First Team. Joining Canzoneri on first team was Beddow, Sweigard, freshman Sarah Hungerford, Maria Kilset, and Lizzie Hedrick who accumulate for 112 points. Midfielder Anna Grady who has scored six goals along with three assists and defender Brooke Ouimette who was four points on the season were placed All-PBC Second Team.