By: by Matthew Farhadi
Box Score
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Kennesaw State women’s soccer team got a goal and an assist from junior
Shelby Cosby to give them a perfect finish to their Atlantic Sun Conference opening weekend with a, 2-0, win over the Belmont Bruins on a blazing hot Sunday afternoon at the Whitten Soccer Complex.
The win improves the Owls to 5-3-1 (2-0 A-Sun) for the season, while the loss drops the Bruins to 1-7 (0-2 A-Sun) on the year. The win also gives the Black and Gold their longest winning streak of the season at three matches.
In a rematch of last year’s A-Sun Championship game, the 95 degree temperature reflected on how heated the game was played. Both teams really went at each other as it was a physical contest throughout.
The Black and Gold dominated play in the first half keeping the Bruins off balance all period, and the constant pressure paid off in the 28th minute of play.
A trio of juniors teamed up to score the first goal of the game as
Katie Scott won possession of the ball and passed it to
Alyssa Mahan, who put a nice through ball to Cosby. Cosby took a shot that beat Belmont’s Preseason All A-Sun goalkeeper Sari Lin on her left side for her first goal of the season.
The Owls extended their lead to 2-0 in the 35th minute on Kristen Marietta’s third goal of the season. Senior goalkeeper
Staci Pugh started it off by punting the ball well past midfield, catching the Belmont players by surprise. Cosby flicked it forward on the bounce to a sprinting Marietta, who beat Lin on a shot that went in the top right corner of the net.
Kennesaw State dug in their heels on defense in the second half, keeping Preseason All A-Sun Belmont forwards Erica Carter and Jayme Trocino at bay to seal a solid conference win for the Owls.
Head Coach Rob King knows it was an excellent start to conference play.
“This weekend was a great start to conference play because it is very difficult to win on the road in this league, and to do so against two quality teams was excellent,” King said. “We had several players step up this weekend, including
Brittany Vining and Pugh. Overall, it was a very good weekend for our squad.”
Pugh made six saves for her second shutout of the season. The Black and Gold now move to 5-1-2 all-time against Belmont.
Kennesaw State’s next match will be on Friday, Sept. 24 as they will host Jacksonville at 7p.m. at KSU Soccer Stadium.
