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KENNESAW, Ga. – Playing with an aggressive and attacking style from the outset, the Kennesaw State soccer team received two goals from redshirt-sophomore forward
Katrina Frost (Fayetteville, Ga./South Carolina) and rode that performance to a 4-2 victory over first-place North Florida in a key Atlantic Sun Conference match-up Friday at KSU Stadium.
Frost’s two goals, her sixth and seventh of the season, and scores from freshman forward
Danielle Gray (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh HS) and sophomore midfielder
Nicole Calder (Adelaide, Australia/Westminster) helped improve the Owls to 8-6-1 overall and 4-1-1 in A-Sun play, one point out of first place with three conference matches remaining.
“We’ve been working on offense for a while now because we really began the season working on defense. We started working on the offense strongly because we wanted to put our chances away,” Frost said. “Tonight we really came out for the seniors. It’s Senior Weekend and we wanted to make sure we gave them a good going-out present and give them something to remember.
“Every game is absolutely vital. We need to make sure we come out and execute every single game and come out strong like we did tonight,” Frost added. “We need to make sure we don’t lay down on the job. We kind of relaxed a little. We can’t do that. There are a lot of teams competing for first place and we’re definitely one of them and we want come out on top.”
Kennesaw State struck first less than eight minutes into the contest when Gray received a pass from junior
Tasia Williams (Waldorf, Md./Auburn) in the right-center of the box and struck a shot inside the far post that gave the Owls a 1-0 lead at the 7:54 mark.
The Ospreys (6-7-2, 4-1-1) were held scoreless until the 42:44 mark when sophomore Alexandra Herman scored her first career goal on header from five yards out to even the score at 1-1.
The Owls took a 2-1 lead 10 minutes into the second half when Frost scored on a header from 13 yards out following a punch out from North Florida goalkeeper Brittany Hahn at the 54:04 mark.
Calder increased the lead to 3-1 after scoring her second goal of the year as she headed in a goal off a corner kick from redshirt-sophomore defender Jewlia Strickland (Fayetteville, Ga./Alabama) at the 70:52 mark.
North Florida answered three minutes later when Keara Murphy scored on a header from 12 yards out at the 73:45 mark that cut the deficit to 3-2.
Frost sealed the victory with an impressive one-touch shot from 45 yards out that sailed over the top of Hahn’s head for a goal and 4-2 lead at the 73:45 mark.
“Obviously I’m very pleased with the performance and the result. We’ve been playing well and that’s four wins on the bounce,” said Head Coach
Rob King. “We defended well. A couple of times we let down and they and caught us on the back post on two occasions. I thought the game we dominated from start to finish. We generated good chances, scored four, it could have been five or six, and so I am very pleased with the result."
Kennesaw State closes out its regular-season home schedule on Sunday when it hosts Jacksonville on Senior Day at 1 p.m.
Kennesaw State is celebrating 30 years of intercollegiate athletics during the 2012-13 academic year.
