By: by Jessica Steadman
Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Kennesaw State soccer team ended their time in the Sunshine State on a cloudy note, falling to Jacksonville, 3-1, in an Atlantic Sun Conference match on Sunday afternoon at the Ashley Sports Complex.
The loss gave the Black and Gold a split of their weekend series in Florida as the Owls (5-5-0, 3-2-0 A-Sun) are tied with the Dolphins (6-6-0, 3-1-0) in the conference standings with nine points.
Kennesaw State came out aggressively and took the first shot of the match courtesy of
Maylee Attin-Johnson, but it was Jacksonville who scored first when Liz Fink received a cross from Becca Massip in the 6th minute for her first goal of the season.
The Owls put pressure on the Jacksonville defense and kept Dolphins goalkeeper Alexa Rooney busy with three saves in the first half. However, it was Fink who again cause problems for the Owls as she scored her second goal of the match in the 36th minute, rebounding a corner kick from Jelena Vrcelj.
The second half saw the Owls come out firing as they out-shot Jacksonville by a 15-5 margin.
Lauren Ruffini would bring Kennesaw State back in the match in the 53rd minute with her first goal of the year when she scored off a corner kick from
Caitlin Dingle.
Kennesaw State’s offense would not let up as the Black and Gold nearly tied the match on several occasions including getting excellent scoring chances on shots from
Lexi Hastings and Dingle that were both stopped by Rooney.
With less than four minutes remaining, Jacksonville's Emily Culbreth put the match out of reach when she scored from 15-yards out after a cross from Vrcelj, to give Jacksonville the insurmountable two-goal lead.
With the clock winding down, Attin-Johnson attempted one last final shot but the Rooney was again there to give hold off the Owls and preserve the Dolphins the victory. Attin-Johnson and Dingle each had four shots and two shots on goal in the match while Ruffini had three shots on goal.
Kennesaw State continues A-Sun play next weekend when they host Nashville-based Lipscomb and Belmont at the KSU Soccer Complex. The Owls battle the Bisons on Friday at 7:00 p.m. followed by a 2:00 p.m. contest against the Bruins on Sunday.
