KENNESAW, Ga. – Coming off a win in their Atlantic Sun Conference opener, the Kennesaw State Owls return home to host a pair of non-conference opponents in Samford and Alabama A&M this weekend.

The Owls (2-3-0, 1-0-0 A-Sun) traveled to Macon, Ga. on Saturday night to open up A-Sun play against in-state rival, Mercer. The Black and Gold kept their perfect record against the Bears in tact as they defeated Mercer, 1-0.

Freshman defender Jade Dempster scored the only goal of the match, a free kick that sailed over the keeper’s head in the 11th minute. The KSU defense held strong the rest of the match, handing Mercer its second shutout of the season. Dempster’s performance earned her A-Sun Defensive Player-of-the-Week honors.

The honor was the second A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week award for Kennesaw State this season. Owls’ goalkeeper Staci Pugh earned the first award after defeating Francis Marion and holding nationally-ranked Minnesota to one goal.

Samford (4-0-1) enters the match having won four straight and has posted shutouts in its last five games. The Bulldogs have not allowed a goal in the last 470 minutes and are undefeated on the season.

Samford goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week after stopping four shots in a 1-0 win over Belmont. The Bulldogs opened the season by playing Auburn to a scoreless tie and then blanked Alabama, 3-0. Their winning streak continued with wins over Francis Marion, Texas State and most recently Belmont. Sarah Wilkinson is the leading scorer for the Bulldogs with three goals on the year.

Searching for their first win of the season, Alabama A&M (0-7-0) opened up their season with losses to Troy, Middle Tennessee State and Southeast Missouri. Most recently, the Bulldogs fell to Jacksonville State and Nicholls State at the JSU Tournament before dropping an 8-0 decision to Duke. Three players have each scored a goal for A&M, Celeste Roberts, Brittany Thomas and Christina Igono.

The Owls take on Samford at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18 before hosting Alabama A&M on Sunday, Sept. 20 for a 1:00 p.m. contest at the KSU Soccer Complex.