BOX SCORE (XML) | BOX SCORE (PDF)
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State soccer team found its offense as the Owls rolled past USC Upstate 3-0 for their first Atlantic Sun Conference win of the season on Sunday at KSU Stadium.
“I was very pleased with the game,” said Head Coach
Rob King. “We controlled it from start to finish. We generated a lot of chances. Their keeper came up very big and had a fantastic game. She kept them in the game, as there could have been a lot more goals. She came up big many, many times for them. We were nice and composed on the ball. We worked it around and it was a great time effort today.”
Freshman
Danielle Gray (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh HS) opened the scoring for the Owls (5-6-1, 1-1-1) in the 19th minute as the forward headed in her team-leading sixth goal of the season. Following a KSU corner, redshirt-sophomore
Jewelia Strickland (Fayetteville, Ga./Alabama) crossed the ball from the left flank, finding Gray’s head to put the Owls up 1-0 over the Spartans (2-11-0, 0-4-0).
KSU added a second goal in the first half when senior midfielder
Liz Blackburn (Bellevue, Neb./Bellevue East HS) notched her first goal of the season and fourth career goal in the 37th minute. Senior defender
Lexi Hastings (Ontario, Canada/Lassiter) served the ball from the right side, finding redshirt-sophomore
Katrina Frost (Fayetteville, Ga./South Carolina) in the center of the box. Frost flicked the ball to an open Blackburn on the left side of the goal, who placed the ball into the bottom right corner.
Kennesaw State put the match out of reach in the 66th minute when junior
Kelsey Barr (Douglasville, Ga./South Carolina) was awarded a penalty kick after being taken down by Spartan goalkeeper Sarah Plantz on a breakaway. Barr registered her third goal of the season and the sixth of her career after finishing the penalty kick into the back of the net with force.
The Owls outshot USC Upstate 20 to five and recorded eight shots on frame to the Spartans’ four. Frost led KSU with four shots on the day, while Barr and freshman
Hannah Churchill (Bristol, England/Filton College) fired three shots each. Michelle Calmeyn tallied two shots for USC Upstate.
KSU earned five corners in the contest, while the Spartans had one. Both teams combined for 20 fouls, with a pair of Spartans, Calmeyn and Plantz, each shown yellow cards in the match.
Senior goalkeeper
Lauren Roberts (Rome, Ga./Marshall) made her first start since facing Georgia State on Aug. 24 and posted four saves in 90 minutes. Plantz collected five saves for the Spartans.
Kennesaw State next heads on the road for its first conference road trip of the season as the Owls travel to Northern Kentucky on Friday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. ET, followed by a 1 p.m. contest at Lipscomb on Sunday, Oct. 7.
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.
