By: by Jessica Steadman
KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State will travel to Macon, Ga. on Saturday evening as they open up Atlantic Sun Conference action against rival Mercer at 7:00 p.m. at Bear Field. The match will be the A-Sun Game of the Week.
This is the first conference match of the season for both teams, with Kennesaw State (1-3-0) owning a 6-0-0 lead in the all-time series. The Owls are coming off a, 3-1, loss to Auburn last week in Alabama. However, the match did see Jade Dempster score her first collegiate goal and Alyssa Mahan add to her team high point total with her first assist of the season.
The Black and Gold are 2-0-2 all-time in A-Sun openers and this season marks the first time that the Owls have opened the conference against a team outside the state of Florida. Kennesaw State has played Stetson twice, North Florida and Florida Gulf Coast in the A-Sun opener over the last four years. It also marks the fourth time in five years the Owls are playing a road match in the league opener.
The match is the second earliest meeting between Kennesaw State and Mercer and the marks the earliest that the two rivals have met in a conference match. The two teams played in late August in the Owls first Division I season when, playing as an Independent, they defeated the Bears, 4-3 in Asheville, N.C.
Mercer (2-2-1) enters the match fresh off a, 2-1, loss to No. 12-ranked Indiana. The Bears boast the reigning A-Sun Player-of-the-Week as junior forward Sara Elliot picked up the honor as she scored three goals and tallied an assist in two games.
The Bears have received votes in the latest NCAA Southeast Regional Rankings, after falling to the No. 12 Hoosiers and Vanderbilt and tying No. 17-ranked Georgia and defeating Presbyterian and Jacksonville State.
Kick-off for the battle of I-75 takes place at 7:00 p.m. Fans can follow the match on live stats by visiting Mercer’s athletic website at: http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/2007/8/28/LiveStats.aspx or watch the match live on the A-Sun website at www.atlanticsunconference.org.
Kennesaw State in A-Sun Openers:
9/23/05 d. @ North Florida, 4-0
9/22/06 t. @ Stetson, 1-1
9/28/07 d. Stetson, 5-2
9/26/08 t. @ Florida Gulf Coast, 1-1
