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KENNESAW, Ga. – After going down a goal late in the match, redshirt-sophomore
Katrina Frost (Fayetteville, Ga./South Carolina) scored her fourth goal of the season with less than two minutes remaining to lift the Kennesaw State soccer team (4-5-1, 0-0-1) to a 1-1 tie with Mercer in the Atlantic Sun Conference opener for both teams.
“First of all it was a good game,” said Head Coach
Rob King. “It was very much a battle and we said it would be. In the locker room before the game, we said we were going to have to fight and fight from the first whistle to the last. I’m very pleased with the effort that we gave. I thought we created enough good chances, particularly early in the game, where we could have been a couple up. Instead, against the run of play we found ourselves a goal down, so we were coming from behind. It was a great goal by Frosty off the free kick to level it up and take it into overtime. I was very pleased with the work rate, very pleased that we came back. We would have liked to get a win out of that first home game, but we will take the tie and we will see if we can get two next weekend.”
While each team tallied scoring opportunities in the first 80 minutes of play, neither could breakthrough for the go-ahead score.
With nine minutes remaining in regulation, Washida Blackman notched her first goal of the season to put Mercer (6-3-1, 0-0-1) up 1-0 late in the match. After a free-for-all following an MU corner kick, Blackman collected the ball and placed a shot into the upper right corner of the goal.
It appeared as though Blackman’s score would prove to be the game-winner until Frost posted her fourth goal of the season and the 15th of her career in the 89th minute. On a free kick from the circle area attached to 18-yard box, Frost fired a shot into the bottom left corner of the goal to even the score at 1-1.
While each team pushed for the game-winner in the two 10-minute overtime periods, neither could break the tie.
“We knew going in that this was going to be our only game this weekend, so we wanted to make sure we put it all out there,” said Frost. ”We left it all on the field and gave all our heart. We really played tonight for Chelsea [O’Callaghan] and we wanted to go out there because we know how much she wants to be out here. Luckily we were able to get one in. We have some unfortunate misses in the first and second halves, but we were able to pull together as a team.”
Mercer outshot the Owls 18 to 14, but KSU tallied seven shots on goal to the Bears’ two. Frost led the Kennesaw State attack with seven shots, including four on frame, while sophomore
Julia Nelson (Marietta, Ga./Hillgrove HS) added four shots, with two on goal. Casey Barrett had four shots for the Bears, while Blackman and Tess Patton each tallied three shots, with one on goal.
KSU earned six corner kicks in the match, while MU tallied seven.
Senior goalkeeper
Melissa Hutto (Pensacola, Fla./South Alabama) notched one save in the contest, while Mercer’s Nikki Atkinson had five saves in the 90 minutes of regulation and Maggie Cropp added one save in the 20 minutes of overtime action.
Kennesaw State finishes its four-match home stand next weekend as the Owls continue A-Sun action with a match against East Tennessee State on Friday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday, Sept. 30 versus USC Upstate. Both matches will be held at KSU Stadium.
Keep up with Owls soccer this year by following KSU on Twitter at @
KSUOwlNation and @
ksuOWLSsoccer, or by liking Kennesaw State Owls on
Facebook.
Kennesaw State University is celebrating 30 years of intercollegiate athletics during the 2012-13 academic year.
