By: by Scott Lipsky
Box Score
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State women’s soccer team made the opening of the new KSU Soccer stadium a successful one, as they rolled over the Alabama A&M Bulldogs, 6-0, in its 2010 home opener on Sunday evening.
The win improves the Owls to 2-0 for the season, while the loss drops the Bulldogs to 0-2 on the year.
Five Owls scored goals in the victory, which included freshman Katelyn Rikel’s first ever collegiate goal, and a pair of goals from junior midfielder Lauren Ruffini.
The Owls began the scoring in the ninth minute, as Ruffini headed the ball into the back of the net off a well-executed free kick from.
Kennesaw State pushed its lead up to 2-0 in the 42nd minute on Rikel’s goal. Shelby Cosby stole the ball from an Alabama A&M player at midfield, and kicked it downfield to senior Savannah Duet. Duet then led Rikel on a beautiful through pass which allowed her to finish putting the ball past Alabama A&M goalkeeper, Linda Aboagye.
“Savannah and I ran towards the ball and we were able to separate ourselves from the defense,” Rikel said. “Savannah was able to make a great pass to me and I was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of it. It felt good to get that first collegiate goal under my belt.”
The Owls turned up the heat in the second half, starting with Kristin Marietta and Alyssa Mahan both scoring their second goals of the season in the 47th and 49th minutes to give the Black and Gold a commanding, 4-0, lead.
Ruffini knocked in her second goal of the match in the 66th minute, off of Rikel’s first-ever collegiate assist, to make the score 5-0.
Rikel was pleased with her performance on the evening, and she reflected on some of the differences between high school and collegiate soccer.
“I’m starting to feel really comfortable with the team, all of the veteran teammates have made the newcomers feel welcome here,” the Woodstock, Ga. native commented. “It’s important for us to be in a good environment, because things move a lot faster here in the college game, and you need constantly be making good decisions on the field.”
Kennesaw State capped of its scoring in the 83rd minute on a penalty shot goal by sophomore Liz Blackburn to give the Owls the 6-0 win.
Goalkeepers Staci Pugh and Melissa Hutto played one half each in the net to combine for the shutout. Pugh had two saves in the first half, including a nice, one-on-one, diving stop to prevent a goal.
Overall, the Owls outshot the Bulldogs, 25-3. Ruffini led the way with five shots, with Marietta closely following her with four.
Head Coach Rob King was pleased with the win, and looks forward to next weekend’s tournament at the University of Tennessee.
“I liked our aggressiveness in the second half, as we were able to score a couple goals early so we could get some more of our players some action in the second half,” Coach King said. “Overall, I was pleased with our weekend, and I am looking forward to next weekend, as we will be playing two very good teams in Richmond and No. 16 Maryland. These next two matches will tell me a lot about our squad.”
The victory improves the Owls to 8-1 all-time in home openers, carrying on their solid home play after eight years at the KSU Soccer Complex.
A crowd of 639 was on-hand to witness the Black and Gold's first match at their new home, KSU Soccer Stadium. All fans in attendance received a souvenir ticket to commemorate the event.
The Owls will travel to Knoxville, Tenn. for the Lady Vol Classic to play two matches, beginning on Friday, Aug. 27 when they take on Richmond at 5:30 p.m.
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