After a 0-0 draw against Ecuador on September 4, the Paraguay men’s national soccer team qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 2010. This draw allowed them to clinch the final direct qualification spot from the CONMEBOL region in the next-to-last round of qualifiers.

Paraguay also benefited from Venezuela’s 3-0 loss to Argentina. Although Ecuador maintained 63% possession during the match, with three shots on goal and six corner kicks, Paraguay held the second-ranked team to a draw and secured its World Cup berth.

It marks the seventh time Paraguay has qualified for the tournament. The achievement sparked nationwide celebrations, and the day was declared a public holiday to commemorate the country’s return to the global stage.

On Sept. 9, in its final CONMEBOL 2026 World Cup qualifier, Paraguay defeated Peru 1-0 to close out its South American campaign and boost morale heading into the fall. Midfielder Matías Galarza scored in the 78th minute to seal the win.

Paraguay will return to the pitch Oct. 10 to face Japan at Suita City Stadium. In November, the team is scheduled to play the U.S. men’s national team on Nov. 15.

Virginia Miller

Slovakia started its quest to reach a second-ever World Cup --- and first since 2010 ---with two wins and two clean sheets from its opening qualifying matches.

It began with arguably the biggest shock in all of UEFA qualifiers so far: a 2-0 win over Germany in Bratislava on Sept. 4 that handed Die Mannschaft just their fourth-ever defeat in a World Cup qualifier and first away from home.

On paper, Germany dominated the match. The visitors had 65% possession, 13 total attempts to Slovakia’s eight and 533 passes completed to Slovakia’s 212. But Slovakia capitalized on its chances. In the 42nd minute, defender and newly signed Atlético Madrid man Dávid Hancko found himself unmarked in the area and slotted past a hopeless Oliver Baumann in goal to open the scoring. 13 minutes later, newly-acquired Middlesbrough forward David Strelec doubled the advantage to seal the upset.

Slovakia’s second match of the window, a 1-0 away win against Luxembourg on Sept. 7, was much less surprising but was dramatic, nonetheless. Aside from Luxembourg doubling

Slovakia’s total attempts, statistically the match was relatively even. Slovakia found its hero in the final moments, as Tomáš Rigo pounced on a rebound in the 90th minute to secure the win and preserve a perfect start.

These two matches mark a drastic improvement from Slovakia’s previous qualification campaign, when they finished third in its group behind Croatia and Russia, earning just three wins from 10 games, a total it has nearly matched already.

Slovakia will resume play in the October window with a trip to Belfast to face Northern Ireland on Oct. 10, followed by a home match against Luxembourg in Trnava on Oct. 13.

Jake Branan

After a promising showing at the Euros, Turkey fell in a tennis- like 6-0 against Spain at the World Cup qualifiers in Konya.

The result underscored the gap between the two teams and dealt a blow to Turkey’s hopes of topping Europe’s Group E. With Spain firmly in control, Turkey is now expected to battle Georgia for second place and a potential playoff spot.

Despite their offensive danger on paper—featuring Arda Guler, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, and Kenan Yildiz—the protagonist of the game on the Turkish side was goalkeeper Ugurcan Çakir, who saved his team from a more lopsided score with saves like one on Lamine Yamal at the fifth minute of the game.

Turkey suffered continuous pressure and attack of the Spanish, who benefited from the rapidity of Yamal, the vision of Mikel Oyarzabal and a ruthless Mikel Merino. The last was a nightmare for the Turkish defenders, as he killed the game with a hat-trick.

With Spain being as confident and tactically prepared as it is, Turkey’s chances of finishing first in the bracket are substantially lower, forcing the team to consider an alternate path to reach the World Cup. The fight for second place in Group E promises to be compelling for soccer lovers, with Turkey vying for the spot against Georgia.

 Although Turkey edged Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s side 3-2, match statistics showed Georgia took 15 shots to Turkey’s six. After conceding six goals to Spain, Turkey now holds a -5 goal difference compared to Georgia’s +2.

Still, Spain’s dominance at the top does little to diminish the excitement of each match in Group E.

Massimo Bellew

The Croatian national team moved to the top of its World Cup qualifying group with 12 points after a successful international break. The Croatians beat the Faroe Islands and Montenegro, securing six points to put Croatia ahead of Czechia.

The national team played the Faroe Islands on Sept. 5 in a close 1-0 victory. This game appeared to be a mismatch with Croatia ranked No. 10 by FIFA while the Faroe Islands rank No. 141.

Andrej Kramaric scored the only goal of the match in the 31st minute. Despite the lack of goals, Croatia dominated in most metrics including keeping possession 74% of the game and taking 14 more corner kicks.

Croatia left no questions about their form with a decisive 4-0 win over Montenegro on Sept. 8. Once again dominating possession at 75%. Kramaric scored again in the 51st minute marking his sixth goal in the World Cup Qualifiers. He also remains the only Croatian to score in all four games this campaign, leading the team in goals.

The Czech national team also has 12 points but has played one more match than Croatia. The two teams meet in their next qualification match on Oct. 9. Their last encounter was June 9, when Croatia won 5-1. Czechia can still take the group's automatic bid by winning out and having a higher goal differential, but it's too early to look at tiebreaker scenarios.

The next game will be pivotal for both teams’ chances to top the group.

Blake Caviness

Forward Denis Bouanga led Gabon’s national soccer team to a 1-1-0 week, scoring a hat trick and keeping the country in pusuit of a World Cup berth. Gabon holds a 6-1-1 record in Group F.

On Sept. 3, Gabon squared off with Seychelles (0-0-8), which resides at the bottom of Group F. Gabon won 4-0 in Saint Pierre, Mauritius.

Bouanga scored a hat-trick for Gabon, starting in the fourth minute from an assist by F Teddy Averlant in the middle of the box. Averlant crossed the ball to an uncontested Bouanga, who placed the ball into the top right corner.

His second goal was unassisted in the box in the 34th minute. The ball came from the goal line, and Bouanga put it behind defender Don Fanchette’s legs to seal another goal past Seychelles goalkeeper Carlos Simeon.

Bouanga scored his third goal four minutes later, when midfielder Guélor Kanga found him in the box to put Gabon up 3-0 before halftime. Kanga raced up the pitch with Bounga on the left, passing it to the right-footer who had the edge on the defender, putting the ball in the lower left corner.

Gabon’s final goal was a header by 68th-minute substitute defender Yannis M’Bemba. During an 89th-minute corner kick, David Sambissa fired the ball into the lone M’Bemba in the back of the goal area, leaving room for him to head it to the goalie. The goalie batted the ball off right, where a Seychelles defender kicked it out of the goal, already past the line.

The tie came between the top two teams in Group F staging, Ivory Coast (6-2-0) and Gabon. In a home matchup for Gabon on Sept. 9, both teams left scoreless.

Ivory Coast leads Group F in goal differential by +15, Gabon is runner-up with +10. Ivory Coast has an impressive zero goals allowed through eight matches played. The point differential is close; Gabon is only short one point of Ivory Coast’s 20.

The next match for Gabon is set for Oct. 6 against Gambia (3-1-4). Both place and time are TBD. Coverage will be on ESPN+

Wesley Webb

The last international break for CONMEBOL featured two games for each team to determine which six nations would automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup, and which would finish in an inter-confederation playoff position. The seventh place team gets the chance to earn one of the remaining two spots in the tournament.

Colombia only needed one game to decide its fate. Los Cafeteros earned their World Cup spot on Sept. 4 after trouncing Bolivia 3-0, which saw veteran James Rodríguez score the decisive goal. Los Cafeteros finished third in the standings with 28 points, after previously failing to qualify for the tournament in 2022.

Ethan Wilcox

Venezuela entered the break in seventh place, the lone inter-confederation playoff spot. La Vinotinto entered the international break with 18 points, one point above Bolivia. Venezuela traveled to Buenos Aires to play against reigning world champions Argentina, but it was defeated 3-0 after a brace from Lionel Messi. But Bolivia’s loss to Colombia meant Venezuela remained in seventh.

Venezuela entered the final day with a matchup against Colombia, while Bolivia played Brazil. Venezuela scored just three minutes into the game to get the crowd in the Estadio Monumental de Maturín off their feet. Colombia quickly answered, scoring in the tenth minute to silence the Venezuelan crowd. The two sides traded goals in a frantic first half before Colombia’s Luis

Suárez took control after the break, scoring three times in the span of 22 minutes to put Colombia firmly ahead. Salomón Rondón briefly cut the deficit, but Jhon Córdoba’s late goal sealed a 6–3 victory for Colombia to finish off Venezuela.

To make matters worse for Venezuela, Bolivia scraped by Brazil with a 1-0 upset victory to leapfrog Venezuela for the seventh spot. Venezuela has yet to qualify for a World Cup, and head coach Fernando Batista was fired after the loss.

Ethan Wilcox

Bolivia officially clinched its qualifying spot for the 2026 World Cup with a massive upset against Brazil on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

Coming off a 3-0 loss to Colombia just five days prior, the national team needed a win to secure their spot. A loss would propel them downwards in the standings and likely send them home, but a win in their final game would be the catalyst to qualifying for the tournament.

The Colombian team out-paced them right away, scoring their first goal in the 31st minute. Bolivia managed a few shots on goal in the first half but simply could not capitalize on any of them.

In the second half, Ervin Vaca earned a yellow card for a particularly bad foul. Colombia scored another two goals, one in the 76th and one in the 83rd. Despite their best efforts, there was no coming back for the Bolivia team.

Brazil was favored to win in the next match on Sept. 9, however Bolivia proved they had not given up quite yet. The two teams seemed to be at a stalemate for the majority of the first half, until Bruno Guimarães of Brazil committed a foul in the box. It went to VAR for review, and, ultimately, the referees decided it was legitimate. Miguel Terceros sunk the shot into the bottom left corner to give Bolivia a 1-0 lead going into halftime.

That goal would be the match-winner, and by the end of the match it became evident that Bolivia had pulled off the upset and punched its ticket for the World Cup.

Frankie Hennessy 

Wales earned a pivotal 1-0 victory over Kazakhstan on Sept. 4, keeping its World Cup qualifying hopes alive. The result places Wales third in Europe’s Group J, one point behind leader North Macedonia (11) and level with Belgium at 10 points. Belgium holds second place on goal difference and has a game in hand. Craig Bellamy’s squad now faces three decisive fixtures: a home match against Belgium on Oct. 13, an away trip to Liechtenstein, and a final showdown in Cardiff against North Macedonia. With only the group winner qualifying automatically, every match is a must-win.

Bellamy praised his players’ resilience in Astana. “We had to dig in,” he said. “It was hard work, really hard work."

He also highlighted the standout performance of debutant Dylan Lawlor. The Cardiff teenager, filling in for Leeds defender Joe Rodon, impressed at center back and helped secure a clean sheet.

The win in Kazakhstan was essential, but qualification remains precarious. Draws and defeats earlier in the campaign, most notably against North Macedonia in March and Belgium in June have left Wales with no margin for error.

To top the group, Wales must win all three remaining fixtures and hope Belgium or North Macedonia drops points elsewhere. If Wales finishes second, the team will enter the play-offs, where a one-legged semifinal and final would determine its fate.

For now, the equation is simple: keep winning.

Maisie Gold

Sweden will have to be near-perfect to get to the 2026 World Cup after a disastrous start in World Cup Qualifiers this week. The Blågult picked up just one point from a possible six during its first week of qualification.

Sweden had two points snatched by Slovenia in the opener behind Zan Vipotnik’s 90th minute equalizer on Friday. The second outing was no better as they fell 2-0 to Kosovo in the small nation’s second ever World Cup Qualifier win on Monday.

Despite the setback, the Blågult still has three possible paths to the World Cup, but all of them will require almost flawless execution. Sweden can still win the group and qualify directly from there. Switzerland is currently on six points, but is yet to face Sweden. If Sweden were to win both games against the Swiss, then the Blågult would be in position to win the group, but Switzerland has won its last five matches by a combined score of 18-3 and has shown no signs of slowing down.

Sweden could also qualify by finishing second in the group and winning a playoff through the UEFA qualifiers. Alternatively, the Blågult's UEFA Nations League performance could qualify them for a playoff spot if the right teams qualify through the qualifiers route. Sweden finished as the 10th best Nations League group winner. Only four teams qualify for the playoffs through the Nations League route, but, of the teams above Sweden, most are expected to qualify through the traditional route.

If Sweden were to qualify for the playoff, it would face a 16 team draw into four groups where semifinals and finals are played, both in single matches, with the highest-ranked team hosting. The venue for the final is drawn, with both matches played in March.

Jack Little 

The FIFA World Cup qualifying rounds have begun, with a very complicated process for the Asian qualifiers. Because neither Iraq nor the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were one of the 20 lowest-ranked nations, both teams automatically made it through the first round of the qualification process in Oct. 2023, advancing to the second round of the process spanning from Nov. 2023 to June 2024.

After winning out, UAE was one of 18 teams that advanced to the third round, which has been taking place this month and finishes up this Tuesday. On Sept. 4, UAE won 3-1 against Syria then shut out Bahrain on Sept. 8. After winning out their group, UAE will be moving on to the next round of the qualification process.

On Oct. 11, UAE will face their first opponent, Oman, in the fourth round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers, vying to be one of the runner-up teams that will secure their spot in the 2026 World Cup.

Iraq played its most recent game in June, winning out the third round, as well, after a 1-0 shutout against Jordan. They will be facing Indonesia on Oct. 11 to open the fourth round of qualifiers. This will be their chance to earn one of the runner-up seeds in the World Cup, as Japan, Iran, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan and Australia have already filled the top six spots.

Gianna Uvari 

Ukraine, seeking its second World Cup appearance and first since 2006—where it lost in the quarterfinals to eventual winners Italy—began its qualification campaign in the September window. The team aims to clear the final hurdle after falling just a goal short against Wales in the playoff final last qualification cycle, which brought an end to the team’s feel-good story just after the country’s invasion by Russia.

Serhiy Rebrov’s squad began its qualification journey by hosting France in Wrocław, Poland on Sept. 5. Les Bleus came away with a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Michael Olise in the 10th minute and Kylian Mbappé in the 82nd. Ukraine held 48% possession against the reigning World Cup finalists, but was outmatched in most other statistics, including just seven total attempts to France’s 16 and 25 attacks to France’s 45.

Ukraine’s loss against a juggernaut like France may have been forgivable, but its second match of the window, a 1-1 draw against 122nd-ranked Azerbaijan in Baku on Sept. 9, is one Ukraine will feel it let slip away. New Benfica loanee Georgiy Sudakov opened the scoring for Ukraine in the 51st minute, but Emin Makhmudov drew Azerbaijan level from the spot in the 72nd minute. In fairness, on paper the hosts were lucky to take the point, Ukraine had 67% possession, 17 total attempts to Azerbaijan’s mere four, 57 attacks to Azerbaijan’s 15, and 503 passes completed to Azerbaijan’s 139.

Ukraine resumes qualification in the October window with a trip to Reykjavik to face Iceland on Oct. 10, followed by a return “home” to face Azerbaijan in Kraków, Poland on Oct. 13.

Jake Branan

Following a narrow 3-2 defeat to Portugal on Sept. 9, Hungary’s World Cup qualifying hopes have grown slim. With just one point from two matches, the team must win its remaining fixtures to stay in contention. Portugal, meanwhile, holds a perfect record with six points from six and remains the group’s front-runner.

Despite a strong showing from Barnabás Varga, who scored twice including a dramatic equalizer in the 84th minute, Hungary couldn’t hold on. João Cancelo netted the winner for Portugal just two minutes later. Cristiano Ronaldo also made history again, scoring his 39th World Cup qualifying goal to tie Guatemala’s Carlos Ruiz for the record.

Hungary’s most realistic path may be securing second place and a playoff berth. That route would still require consistent wins and a slip-up from Armenia. While Armenia has shown flashes of strength, its inconsistency could work in Hungary’s favor --- especially with the home crowd behind them in Budapest.

Hungary’s next match is set for Oct. 11 at Puskás Aréna against Armenia, a must-win fixture that could define the campaign. The team enters as the bookmakers’ favorite, with backed by home advantage and superior squad depth. With Dominik Szoboszlai orchestrating the midfield and Varga in form, Hungary must seize this opportunity to build momentum and keep its World Cup dream alive.

Maisie Gold

Uruguay secured its place in the 2026 World Cup after finishing fourth in the CONMEBOL qualifying tournament.

In the September window, Uruguay went 1-0-1, earning a win over Peru and a draw against Chile. While the squad did not need the win to earn its spot, avoiding a loss helped in remaining in their top 5 standing.

In its first September match against Peru, both teams came out scrappy. Before the 13th minute, there had been four fouls, one of which being a yellow card awarded to a Peruvian

player. Uruguay’s Rodrigo Aguirre then scored from a header in the center of the box in the next minute, putting the team up 1-0. There would be no more goals in the first half, though there would be another yellow card for Peru.

Giorgian de Arrascaeta doubled the advantage in the 58^th minute with a shot into the center of the goal. Rodrigo Bentancur earned the first Uruguay yellow card of the night in the 69th minute with a bad foul. In the 78th minute another Peru player was given a yellow, followed by Mathías Olivera was receiving one in the 79th.

Only a minute later Federico Viñas sunk a shot into the lower right corner for the final goal of the night. That 3-0 victory would set them up nicely for their ranking in the tournament. Uruguay closed the window with a scoreless draw against Chile, securing qualification regardless of the result.

Frankie Hennessy

Wake Forest men’s soccer’s redshirt freshman Owen Barnett made his collegiate debut on Sept. 5 at home in Spry Stadium versus Lipscomb. Barnett and the Demon Deacons hosted their third shutout of the 2025 season, out-scoring the Bisons 4-0.

Barnett graduated with honors from Clarke Central High School out of Athens, Georgia. He played goalkeeper for the Gladiators’ soccer team in 2021, before beginning online school while training with Atlanta United’s academy program in Atlanta his sophomore and junior seasons.

His senior season, Barnett made the decision to return home to his family and friends in Athens. To his teammates, he returned home as a striker.

During Barnett’s final semester of high school, he woke up at 4:45 A.M. on weekdays, drove two hours to Marietta, trained to save goals for Atlanta United’s academy program, drove back to Athens for three hours of class and, then, trained to score goals for Clarke Central’s varsity team. Barnett said he was living every goalie’s dream, according to OnlineAthens in a 2024 Q&A.

“As a goalkeeper, you’re the only person on the field that can see the whole field, so you know where everybody is at,” Barnett said on how his experience as a goalkeeper contributed to his development as a striker. “If you put that on the opposite side of the field as a striker I can know behind my back where the player should be.”

The following summer, Barnett went on to play semi-professional soccer for Athens FC during their inaugural season competing in USL League 2.

Barnett did not appear in any matches during his freshman season at Wake Forest, but he entered the pitch for the first time in the 73rd minute against Lipscomb and was not challenged in goal for the remainder of the match.

Drew Renner

The NC State men’s soccer team started their season with four wins and one draw along with a No. 5 ranking by the United Soccer Coaches. Georgia native Justin McLean has made an impact early on in his first season with the Wolfpack.

McLean has played in all five games so far and started against FIU and the University of North Carolina. He scored in his start versus FIU for his first goal at NC State. In his last game on Sept. 10 ,he scored a goal and recorded an assist. His two goals mark the second most on the team.

The team performed well in nonconference games and drew against rivals North Carolina at home. It was the first game that the Wolfpack failed to score. The Tarheels were a strong opponent as they are ranked No. 21 by the United Soccer Coaches.

NC State plays two more nonconference games before ACC play officially kicks off. FAU comes to Raleigh on Sept. 13. The Owls started their season strong winning their first three games and earned a No. 19 ranking by the United Soccer Coaches. They would go on to a 5-0 loss to North Florida on Sept. 4. The Wolfpack will finish nonconference play against William & Mary, who have yet to win a game.

NC State has yet to play an away match, but that will change on Sept. 19 when they travel to Boston College.

Blake Caviness

The Georgia Gwinnett women’s soccer team faced three difficult opponents last week, and the results were not what NAIA rankings would have suggested. The Grizzlies downed No. 1 SCAD on the road last Saturday but followed with a home loss unranked Southeastern and a draw to unranked Xavier (La.)

The win over SCAD marked GGC’s second-ever win over a top-ranked opponent. Barbora Kadlecova put the Grizzlies ahead just past the 20-minute mark. Natalie Maguire and Rikke Steenhold’s second half strikes extended the Grizzly lead to 3-0. SCAD got a goal back late via Mia Gomez but was unable to mount a comeback.

GGC returned to Lawrenceville to host Southeastern and Xavier the following weekend. The Grizzlies opened the home stand with a 2-0 loss to Southeastern. They were able to claw back from 3-0 down to Xavier with under 25 minutes remaining to a 3-3 draw. Kendra Delgado led the comeback in the 71st minute as she netted her first goal for GGC. Gabriela Rosas scored in the 82nd minute, then drew a penalty allowing Jessica Fuentes to equalize in the 87th minute.

GGC forward Camila Madriz Figueroa was instrumental in the comeback, supplying Delgado with an assist on the first goal for Grizzlies and creating several more opportunities with her play.

“We’ve had a difficult last couple of games,” said Madriz Figueroa. “Being able to get back to goal scoring and combining as a team with the small ball that we have been practicing is exactly what we needed.”

The Grizzlies will attempt to get back in the win column this week as they host Mobile on Saturday at 11 A.M. The game will be streamed on the Grizzly Digital Network on YouTube.

Jack Little

This week, the North Georgia women’s soccer team opened its season 3-0 with wins against Wingate, UNC Pembroke and Young Harris. Last Thursday, the Nighthawks won their home opener 4-3 against the Wingate Bulldogs at the UNG Soccer Field thanks to a second- half comeback.

The Nighthawks opened the match with a goal by Bailey Oetinger, senior forward and the lead returning scorer from the 2024 season, followed by a goal from junior defender Grace McGill.

Going into the second half, the team trailed 3-2 until sophomore Nina Lopez was able to sneak in a goal to tie the game. This was followed by freshman Sarah Woodall scoring the game-winning goal in the 68th minute.

UNG’s last two games were on the road, with impressive wins over UNC Pembroke with a 4-2 final score on Sept. 6, along with a 3-0 shutout at Young Harris on Sept. 10.

Oetinger remains the team’s lead scorer with scores in all three of the Nighthawks games this season. Lopez scored both in the Wingate and Young Harris game, along with contributing an assist against UNC Pembroke. Woodall has also been making a name for herself after scoring the game-winning goal against Wingate and the final goal against Young Harris.

The Nighthawks will have a chance to maintain their undefeated record on Sunday, Sept. 14 against the Lee Flames at home.

Gianna Uvari

Georgia State’s men’s soccer showed great determination in their recent 1-1 draw against Lipscomb on Sept. 8 at the GSU Soccer Complex in Atlanta. The Panthers, now 1-2-2 on the season, overcame an early setback to control much of the match and earn a valuable point in a competitive conference clash. Lipscomb struck first in the 10th minute when Diego Ramirez found the net, assisted by Daniel Stampatori. However, Georgia State quickly responded with an aggressive attacking approach, outshooting the Bisons 15-7 overall and 10-3 on target. The Panthers’ goalkeeper, Loan Marin, was vital in maintaining the team’s composure, making several crucial saves to keep the scoreline close. In the 87th minute, Braiden Hall scored his second goal of the season, thanks to a precise assist from Samir-Mohamed Djeha, leveling the match. The Panthers also dominated set pieces, earning seven corner kicks compared to Lipscomb’s single opportunity. A late goal for Georgia State was disallowed due to an offside penalty.

Georgia State has struggled early this season but has shown flashes of potential, especially in their ability to create scoring chances and maintain pressure. Braiden Hall leads the team offensively, while Loan Marin continues to be a key presence in goal. The Panthers will look to build on this resilience as they prepare to face UAB on Sept. 15 at home. Georgia State now sits at 1-2-2, hoping to turn draws into wins as conference play heats up. The upcoming match against UAB will be a good test of their progress and ability to compete for a stronger position in the standings.

Cortland Tollmann

The Columbus State women’s soccer team enters the 2025 season with a 1-1 record. The Cougars were ranked No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll ahead of the season.

Columbus State lost 2-1 to Embry-Riddle on Sept. 5 at home at the Walden Soccer Complex to open the season. The Eagles put their two points on board within the first five minutes of the match. Despite trailing 2-0 so early, Columbus State controlled much of the match thereafter and did not allow another shot from Embry-Riddle.

Junior transfer Shania Wegesend, arriving this season from Emmanuel University, scored the unassisted lone goal in the 89th minute to pull the Cougars within one. Chasing the game 2-1 now, Columbus State pressed hard for an equalizer, but with only seconds remaining, it could not find the back of the net.

With only one full day of recovery, the Cougars conquered Florida Tech 3-0 on Sept. 7 back at the Walden Soccer Complex. Senior Abigail Akerson wasted no time in her search for redemption, recording a goal just 16 seconds into the match. Senior transfer from Florida Southern, Heidi Harris, responded with steady goalkeeping to preserve the Cougars’ lead.

Florida Tech’s eight shots on goal were all rejected by Harris, last season’s Peach Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

Seniors Avery Williams and Michelle Medina scored goals two and three for the Cougars, assisted by senior Sarah Hungerford and junior Juanita Escobar. The Columbus State backline held Florida Tech’s offense to only 13 total shots.

The Cougars will pay a visit to Harris’ previous team, Florida Southern (1-0-1), on Sept. 12 in Lakeland, Florida, looking to extend their win streak.

Drew Renner

Emory women

The Emory women’s soccer team is five games into its 2025 season, and the team remains undefeated. In their most recent shutout victory, the Eagles defeated Covenant College at home on Thursday, Sept. 11 in a massive 7-0 win. A trio of Eagles scored two goals each to help lead Emory to their blowout win: Nikki Grosso, Mikayla Camp and Zia Tomlin. The Eagles had 36 shots while Covenant College was held to two shots during the entirety of the game. Notably, Camp had five shots on goal. Sophomore Laina Denys had a career-high three assists to help the Eagles extend their record to 5-0. The first two goals of the game came from Camp within the first 25 minutes of the match. Camp also leads the team with six goals for the season. Six of the seven goals of the night happened within the first half of the game to make for a dominant first half performance.

Emory has had victories so far against Columbus State, Berry College, the College of Saint Benedict, St. Catherine University and Covenant College. So far in the season, Camp and Denys have proved to be critical offensive players to Emory’s team by creating successful offensive plays. The team will be back in action next against No. 15 Washington and Lee on Sept. 14 in Cary, N.C.

Virginia Miller 

GSA North 11G Premier punched their ticket to the US Club Soccer National Cup berth with a win over NTH-Tophat Buckhead White over Labor Day weekend. GSA North 11G Premier went 3-1-0, outscoring their opponents 8-5. Their only loss came from the runner-up in an earlier bout, losing 4-0. On Sept. 1, GSA beat NTH-Tophat 1-0, sealing the championship on Fowler Park field no. 9 in Cumming, Ga.

The Southeastern Clubs Champions League hosted the annual SCCL Cup across various venues in Atlanta, featuring over 300 teams and 19 participating clubs. The three-day tournament is an opportunity for teams to go to the national tournament in 2026.

After this cup victory, GSA will have a team represent them in July 2026 in Denver, Colorado.

Wesley Webb

The second game of the season in the ECNL Southeast Girls 2012 shows GSA at full points alongside Sporting Jax and Florida Krush, placing GSA in a strong position early in the season. The other teams are already in the chase, eager to improve their standings.

Thanks to their wins by 3-0 and 4-0, respectively, against FL Premier and Tampa Bay, GSA leads with a goal difference of +7, a testament to their all-around attacking and defensive abilities. Notably, GSA is the only team yet to concede a goal, and their seven goals this season have come from the collective efforts of six different players.