By: by Jessica Steadman
KENNESAW, Ga. – With five Atlantic
Sun Conference matches under their belts, the Kennesaw State soccer team continues league play this weekend, hosting Nashville-based Lipscomb and Belmont on
Friday and
Sunday at the KSU Soccer Complex.
Kennesaw State (5-5-0, 3-2-0 A-
Sun) enters the weekend coming off a tough, 3-1, loss to Jacksonville
last Sunday that saw sophomore
Lauren Ruffini score the teams only goal. The Owls defeated North Florida 1-0 on
Friday, with red-shirt senior
Caitlin Dingle picking up her fourth goal of the season.
The Owls are currently tied for second place with Florida Gulf Coast and Jacksonville in the league with nine points. The Owls 3-2 record places them behind both teams who post a 3-1 record. Standing atop the conference is Belmont with 12 points and a 4-0 record.
Lipscomb will be the first of the two Nashville teams to play against the Owls this weekend. The Bisons enter the weekend with a 3-9-0 overall record and are ninth in the league with a 1-3-0 mark. They are led by junior Kate Spellman, who has three goals and two assists while freshman goalkeeper Ally Marler has 47 saves on the year.
The Bison started off A-
Sun play with two losses against Campbell and Belmont, but have split their last two matches with their lone victory coming in a, 4-1, victory over USC Upstate that saw the team break several school records including most goals ever in an A-
Sun match.
The Owls, who lost to Lipscomb for the first time ever last season, own a 3-1-0 overall record against the Bisons.
Kennesaw State will take on league-leading Belmont on
Sunday afternoon. The Bruins enter the match with a 7-4-1 overall record and are led junior Jayme Trocino, who leads the league with eight goals and also has two assists. She also leads the A-
Sun points, points per game and goals per game.
Freshman Lauren Paynter is also having a stellar rookie campaign as she sits right behind Trocino with six goals. Sophomore goalkeeper, Sari Lin, who was the A-
Sun Tournament’s Most Valuable Player last season, has 41 saves and four shutouts this year.
Belmont has wins over Campbell, Lipscomb, ETSU and USC Upstate and is riding a six-game winning streak. The Bruins will play Mercer on
Friday evening in Macon, Ga. prior to
Sunday’s meeting with the Owls. Belmont is ranked first in points, goals, assists, assists per game and goals per game.
The Black and Gold will be meeting the Bruins for the first time since being beat last season in a shootout during the conference tournament semifinals. Kennesaw State is 2-1-2 all-time against Belmont.
Friday's match against Lipscomb will kick-off at 7:00 p.m. with
Sunday afternoon’s meeting with Belmont scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at the KSU Soccer Complex.
