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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State soccer team sent its seniors out with a win as the Owls defeated visiting Jacksonville, 2-1, on Senior Day at KSU Soccer Stadium on Sunday.
The win was the fifth in a row for Kennesaw State (9-6-1, 5-1-1) and moved the Owls into a second-place tie with Florida Gulf Coast in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Both teams will enter Friday’s 7 p.m. ET contest in Fort Myers, Fla., one point behind league-leader Mercer.
Kennesaw State is one of five teams to already have clinched A-Sun Tournament berths, joining Florida Gulf Coast, Mercer, North Florida and East Tennessee State. The top six teams qualify for the tournament with the top two teams receiving first-round byes and the regular-season champion hosting the semifinals and final.
After honoring seniors
Liz Blackburn (Bellevue, Neb./Bellevue East HS),
Lexi Hastings (Ontario, Canada/Lassiter HS),
Melissa Hutto (Pensacola, Fla./South Alabama) and
Lauren Roberts (Rome, Ga./Marshall), Kennesaw State started the game with the same aggressive and attacking style of play that sparked a 4-2 win over North Florida on Friday.
The Owls struck first when Hastings served a pass into the middle of the field where redshirt-sophomore forward
Katrina Frost received the ball and scored from 18 yards out at the 29:35 mark. It was the first of two goals that the pair would hook up for.
They struck again six minutes later when Frost scored her team-leading ninth goal of the season on a deflection by Jacksonville goalkeeper Jill D’Amico following a shot by Hastings at the 35:37 mark.
“I was trying to be aggressive getting forward and it worked,” Hastings said. “Frosty and I kept hooking up and we got a result out of it.”
Kennesaw State’s 2-0 halftime lead did not last long as the Dolphins scored less than a minute into the second half when Emily Culbreth scored from 12 yards on a ball served from Becca Massip.
“Senior day was great. We got surprised with a lot of stuff in the locker room,” Hastings said. “It was a little nerve-wracking. I think we were all anticipating a win, but we knew we were going to have to work really hard for it. The game was a little nerve-wracking in itself because they scored like in the first 10 seconds of the second half, but we ended up pulling strong and got the win.”
Roberts started in goal for the Owls and recorded two saves while Hutto played the final 45 minutes and registered a pair of saves.
“A lot of emotions flowing through today, honestly, a tad more nervous today just because it was Senior Day and memories from freshman year all the way through now kicking in,” Hutto said. “To win it today really capped it off especially for the last home game.
“We hope to host the (A-Sun) tournament here, but if not, we know we went out on a great note for our last home game,” Hutto added.
Blackburn, who has played in all 16 games for the Owls this season, also was pleased with the day’s outcome.
“It’s definitely a bittersweet day. We came together and played really well so that was a nice feeling,” Blackburn said. “It’s always sad for this to be the last game. It’s been a long road for the four of us. We’ve come so far together. Me, Lexi and Mel have been here from the beginning and we’ve had so many memories and so many good times along the way and Lauren jumping in. It’s been great. I couldn’t have asked for three better seniors to share this with.”
KSU wraps up the regular season with its final road trip of the season, traveling to Florida Gulf Coast for match on Friday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. contest at Stetson on Sunday, Oct. 21.
Kennesaw State is celebrating 30 years of intercollegiate athletics during the 2012-13 academic year.
