GAME NOTES |
LIVE VIDEO |
LIVE STATS
KENNESAW, Ga. - Coming off of the first win in program history Friday night (Apr. 12), Kennesaw State (1-7, 0-1) looks to continue the momemtum when it travels to DeLand, Fla. to play Atlantic Sun Conference rival Stetson (0-13, 0-2) on Sunday (Apr. 14) beginning at 4 p.m.
The Owls can clinch a berth in the first-ever A-Sun Conference Championship tournament with a win against the Hatters. The top four teams in the five-team conference will advance to the league tournament that begins April 26 in Jacksonville, Fla.
LIVE COVERAGE: Live audio and video will be available at www.gohatters.com. Live stats will also be provided at www.gohatters.com.
SERIES VERSUS STETSON: Sunday’s game marks the first-ever meeting between Kennesaw State and Stetson.
A LOOK AT STETSON: Stetson enters Sunday’s contest with an 0-13 record following a 19-9 loss against Detroit on Friday (Apr. 12). The Hatters, one of eight new programs to debut in 2013, are led by Nicole Moore. Appointed head coach in 2011, Moore has served as an assitant coach most recently at the Univeristy of Vermont.
LAST TIME OUT: The Kennesaw State lacrosse team made history Friday night at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. Behind the offensive firepower of junior Emily Collins and freshman Senneca Ward, and the stellar goalkeeping of freshman goalie Beth Cochran, the Owls defeated Atlantic Sun Conference rival Howard, 14-13, to record the program’s first-ever win. Collins tallied a program-record seven goals and Ward equaled a career-best with six scores, while Cochran established a career-high with 14 saves.
Kennesaw State (1-7, 1-1) recorded several firsts in the game, including: first-ever halftime lead, largest lead and first come-from-behind victory. The Owls withstood a late rally by the Bison (1-13, 0-2), who scored four straight goals to tie the score at 13:13 with 1:35 remaining before Collins scored the game-winner with 1:05 to play. While Collins and Ward were helping the offense set a single-game record for most goals scored, Cochran and the defense limited Howard to an opponent-low 13 goals. The victory puts Kennesaw State in position to advance to the A-Sun Conference Championship tournament that will be held April 26-28 in Jacksonville, Fla. The league is comprised of five teams and the top four in the final regular-season standings qualify for the tournament.
DYNAMIC DUO CONTINUE OFFENSIVE DOMINANCE: Scoring 13 of the 14 goals against Howard, Senneca Ward and Emily Collins showed why they lead the team in goals scored as well as total overall points. Both midfielders have a five-game streak of multi-point games, and will look to continue the offenisve showcase when they play Stetson Sunday afternoon.
TEAM CAPTAINS GIVING THEIR ALL: Team captains Taylor Southerland, Kyra Ferguson, and Arielle Schmidt have proven to be team leaders on and off the field. While contributing invaluable leadership for a young Owls team, the trio also is in the top five in several statistical categories.
BETH COCHRAN CONTINUES TO PROVIDE SOLID DEFENSE IN THE GOAL: Playing all 420 minutes of action this season, Cochran has proved to be a reliable goalie for the Owls this season. The freshman is currently ranked 17th in the nation in saves per game (8.29), and recently recorded a career high 14 saves against Howard (Apr. 12).
SENNECA WARD NAMED A-SUN CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Freshman midfielder Senneca Ward became the first Kennesaw State player in program history to be named Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week when she received the honor on Mar. 4. The Owls’ freshman earned the award after totaling a team single-game record six goals versus Coastal Carolina on Mar. 2.
SOUTHERN PIONEERS: Kennesaw State made additional history when it played its inaugural game at Vanderbilt on Feb. 10. The Owls became the first Division I women’s lacrosse program in the state of Georgia.
EIGHT NEW PROGRAMS DEBUT IN 2013: Kennesaw State is one eight Division I institutions that is beginning its first season of women’s lacrosse in 2013. The seven other programs include Campbell, Coastal Carolina, Delaware State, Marquette, USC, Stetson and Winthrop. Four of those teams (Campbell, Coastal Carolina, Stetson and Winthrop) are on the Owls’ schedule this year.
A-SUN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT: Kennesaw State will be competing in the Atlantic Sun Conference, which is sponsoring women’s lacrosse for the first year. The league is comprised of Detroit, Howard, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State and Stetson. The A-Sun Conference will host a four-team championship tournament with the winner advancing to the NCAA Tournament. The A-Sun Tournament is scheduled for April 26-28 in Jacksonville, Fla.
NCAA TOURNAMENT: Accommodating the impressive growth of the sport on a national level, the NCAA has expanded the lacrosse tournament field from 16 to 26 teams in 2013. All 13 conference champions will receive automatic bids while 13 additional teams will earn at-large selections. The top eight teams will be seeded in the bracket and host first- and second-round games. The top six seeded teams receive byes into the second round and serve as hosts for a neutral-site first-round game. The first-round winners then play at the top six seeded teams. Seventh and eighth-seeded teams also will host, but will play a first-round game. The national quarterfinals are scheduled for May 18 or 19, with the four winners advancing to the finals May 24-26 in Villanova, Pa.
LLANES SIGNS 12 DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD: While preparing for the inaugural 2013 season, Llanes also has been out on the recruiting trail in an effort to lay the foundation for the future. The time on the road proved to be successful as she signed 12 players during November’s early signing period. The group will help comprise the 2014 Owls team includes: Madison Christian (Attack/Midfielder; Serverna Park, Md.; Serverna Park HS), Samantha Farwick (Attack; Columbus, Ohio; Upper Arlington HS), Sydney Farwick (Midfielder, Attack; Columbus, Ohio; Upper Arlington HS), Olivia Hokanson (Attack; Crofton, Md.; South River HS), Taylor McGhee (Midfield; Marietta, Ga.; Sprayberry HS), Maci Murdock (Goalie; Powder Springs, Ga.; Hillgrove HS), Megan Nicholetti (Attack; Cumming, Ga.; North Forsyth HS), Katherine Ocheda (Defense; Perry Hall, Md.; Institute of Notre Dame), Haley O’Donoghue (Attack; North Tustin, Calif.; Foothill HS), Lyndsay Parris (Midfield; Grayson, Ga.; Grayson HS), Adrianna Smith (Midfield/Attack; Lebanon, Ohio; Lebanon HS) and Megan Tobias (Defense; Abingdon, Md.; Mercy HS).
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Kennesaw State is celebrating 30 years of intercollegiate athletics during the 2012-13 academic year.
