By: by Jessica Steadman
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KENNESAW, Ga. – In front of nearly one-thousand fans at the KSU Soccer Complex, the Owls fell to the Mexico National Team, 5-0, in their second and final exhibition match on Sunday evening.
The game was scoreless for the first 30 minutes as the Owls demonstrated strong defense and a key save by Staci Pugh. The Black and Gold narrowly missed a scoring opportunity in the 29th minute when a cross from Kristin Marietta to Maylee Attin-Johnson was intercepted in front of the Mexico goal.
Leticia Villalpando almost put Mexico on the board with a header that was batted away by Staci Pugh above the goal in the 21st minute.
Mexico took a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute when Monica Ocampo accepted a cross from Tania Morales from 15-yards out and sent a shot to the bottom right corner. The second goal for Mexico came quickly when they scored in the 33rd minute when Evelyn Lopez headed a shot past the extended reach of Pugh.
“They are very technical team with experienced players,” said Kennesaw State head coach Rob King. “They not only outplay you, but they also out-think you. It’s great to play a team like Mexico because they are known for their ball skills and we can only learn and become a better team ourselves from playing them.”
The Owls were out shot 12-2 in the first half and Mexico was equally as impressive in the second half as they again out shot Kennesaw State while adding three second half goals for the 5-0 win.
Ocampo scored her second goal of the night in the 66th minute on a breakaway before Mexico again scored twice in a short period of time to end the scoring. Ashley Rotero scored in the 80th minute off her own rebound after a free kick. Villalpando added Mexico’s final goal with a header in the 82nd minute.
Melissa Hutto made her Kennesaw State debut as she entered the match in the 64th minute and made a pair of saves. Shelby Cosby led the Owls with two shots.
“It is an honor to play against a team like Mexico,” said sophomore Thais Gibson, who started as a defender for the first time. “We have a lot to learn, but we have been able to do a lot of that over the last two games.”
Kennesaw State will be back in action on Friday evening when they play Francis Marion in their home opener on Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. at the KSU Soccer Complex.
