By: by Matthew Farhadi
Game Notes
Live Scoring
KENNESAW, Ga. – In the world of collegiate athletics when a team comes out with their schedule at the beginning of every season there is always that one game that fans circle as a can’t miss game and that players get pumped up a little more than usual for. For the Kennesaw State women’s soccer team that game is on Saturday evening when the Owls host in-state rival Mercer.
Kennesaw State and Mercer are located a mere 108 miles apart so when these two teams meet there is always a little something extra involved, but when you throw in the fact that the number two seed in the Atlantic Sun Tournament is on the line, and it will be Senior Day on Saturday, that just adds more fuel to the fire.
For Caroline Austin, Savannah Duet, Staci Pugh and Sadjr Williams Saturday will mark their final regular season home game of their excellent careers.
Playoff seeding is also a leading story heading into Saturday’s match as the winner of this match, along with a North Florida tie or loss against Jacksonville, will get a quarterfinal round bye and automatically advance to the semifinals of the A-Sun Tournament.
Head Coach Rob King knows how important this match is for both sides.
"We're looking forward to tomorrow's match. Kennesaw State versus Mercer is always a close game, played with a lot of passion," King said. "Both teams are playing for a possible bye to the semifinal round of the A-Sun tournament, and I expect a great performance from our team on Senior Night."
Last weekend the Owls (8-6-2, 5-3-1 A-Sun) registered a 2-0 win over USC Upstate and a 1-1 tie against East Tennessee State to put them in a good position to achieve that quarterfinal bye.
The Black and Gold dominated play en-route to a 2-0 win over the Spartans last Friday night. Kennesaw State got goals from Alma Gardarsdottir in the 49th minute off an Alyssa Mahan corner kick, and in the 80th minute Brittany Vining sealed the win with helped from classmates Kristin Kranick and Katie Scott.
On Sunday, the Owls got off to a slow start with East Tennessee State taking the early lead. Kennesaw State played much better in the second half, and got the equalizer from Gardarsdottir in the 86th minute on a penalty kick that was awarded to the Black and Gold when Kranick got taken down inside the box. Kennesaw State dominated the extra sessions but couldn’t put one in the back of the net as the match ended in a 1-1 tie.
Looking ahead to Saturday, Kennesaw State and Mercer enter the contest both on three-match unbeaten streaks as the Owls are 2-0-1 in their last three, while the Bears are 3-0-0.
Even though this match is always very intense and physical, Kennesaw State has never lost to Mercer going 7-0-0 in the all-time series. However, the last three matches played between the two squads have all been decided by one goal.
Mercer (7-8-1, 6-3-0 A-Sun) was picked to finish in a tie for fourth in the A-Sun Preseason Poll and is coming off an 8-6-4 record last season. Under seventh-year head coach Grant Serafy, the Bears return 10 starters, including senior defender Kacie Hudson who leads the team with 12 points and six goals. Mercer is coming off a 2-1 win over USC Upstate last Sunday.
The match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
Saturday’s match is also commemorative mini-soccer ball giveaway night as the first 500 fans to enter the stadium will receive a homecoming mini-soccer ball. There will also be a post-match fireworks show, and a Chick-fil-A cow jump in which you can purchase a cow for $10 that will be dropped out of a helicopter onto a bullseye to win several great prizes.
Also, fans will get their first chance to purchase individual tickets during the soccer match at the marketing table on the main concourse for the Men's Basketball game against Georgia Tech on Monday, November 15th.
