NO. 6 KENNESAW STATE AT NO. 3 JACKSONVILLE
MATCH 18 | OCTOBER 31, 2014
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. | SOUTHERN OAK STADIUM
 
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | A-SUN TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | A-SUN TOURNAMENT BRACKET (PDF) | TWITTER
 
THE MATCH:
Kennesaw State opens play in the 2014 Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament this weekend as the No. 6 seed and will travel to Jacksonville, Fla., to take on No. 3 seed Jacksonville on Friday, Oct. 31 at 6 p.m. ET in Southern Oak Stadium.
 
Friday's match will be featured on ASun.TV, with live stats also available via KSUOwls.com.
 
THE COVERAGE:
LIVE STATS: Statistical updates will be available from KSUOwls.com at the start of Friday's match.
LIVE VIDEO: A live video broadcast will be available at the start of Friday's match via KSUOwls.com.
TWITTER: Follow the Kennesaw State women's soccer team on Twitter @KSUOwlsSoccer to receive updates throughout the match.
 
THE OPPONENT:
Jacksonville
The Dolphins, the reigning tournament champions, enter the 2014 A-Sun Conference Tournament as the No. 3 seed with a final conference mark of 4-3 and an overall record of 10-7-1 after concluding their regular season with a 3-0 win over cross-town rival North Florida last Friday. Sope Akindoju leads the JU offense with 13 points on the season, with a team-leading five goals and three assists. Kaitlyn Bassett has added 10 points on four goals and two assists for the Dolphins. Goalkeeper Sarah Sierra owns a 0.82 goals against average after giving up just 15 goals in 18 matches and has registered 87 saves on the year. The Dolphins are 15-11-5 in the annual conference tournament and have won the championship three times in program history.
 
THE SERIES:
The Owls own an 8-6-0 advantage in their all-time series with the Dolphins and posted a 1-0 victory in the regular season meeting earlier this season between the two schools on Oct. 10 at Southern Oak Stadium in Jacksonville. Redshirt-sophomore Brittney Reed put in her second goal of the season in the fourth minute off of a free kick service from classmate Danielle Gray to send the Owls to the gritty conference road win. KSU and JU last met in the A-Sun Tournament in the 2013 semifinals a season ago, where the Dolphins earned a 2-0 win to advance to the conference finals.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
On a perfect night for a soccer match, it was only fitting that a senior would send the Kennesaw State soccer team to a 1-0 Atlantic Sun Conference win over USC Upstate on Senior Night 2014 as Alma Gardarsdottir netted her first goal of the season to lift the Owls to victory in their regular season finale on Friday night (Oct. 24) at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. Gardarsdottir sent in her seventh career goal in the 64th minute after receiving the ball from sophomore Maggie Gaughan and finishing into the left side of the goal for the 1-0 KSU lead. It was Gaughan's first career assist and her team-leading 11th point of the season. Prior to the match, the Owls honored Gardarsdottir and fellow seniors Nicole Calder, Iyani Hughes, Julia Nelson, Heather Joyce and Jewelia Strickland. With the win, the group collected their 40th victory of their careers at Kennesaw State.
 
NEXT UP:
The winner of the Kennesaw State-Jacksonville match will advance to the semifinals of the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament and will face No. 2 seed Lipscomb on Friday, Nov. 7 at the FGCU Soccer Complex in Fort Myers, Fla. Kickoff for the first semifinal match is slated for 4 p.m. ET.
 
NEWS AND NOTES:
Owls on Halloween
KSU is 2-0 when playing on Halloween. The Owls tallied a 1-0 win at USC Spartanburg in 2002, as well as a 3-1 at Mercer in 2007.
 
Owls as the No. 6 Seed
The Owls will be the sixth seed in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament for the first time in program history and own a 5-4-2 record in the annual tournament.
 
A-Sun All-Conference Honorees
A trio of Owls earned all-conference accolades when the A-Sun released its annual postseason awards list as redshirt-sophomore Brittney Reed earned A-Sun All-Conference First-Team honors, sophomore Maggie Gaughan was tabbed A-Sun All-Conference Second-Team and freshman Abby Roth was named to the A-Sun All-Freshman Team.
 
Gray Excelling Athletically and Academically
Redshirt-sophomore Danielle Gray has excelled on the field and off, as she was named to the A-Sun Academic All-Conference Team on Wednesday, before earning a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team for District Four on Thursday. Gray owns a 4.0 GPA in finance and leads the Owls with 1,475 minutes played in 2014.
 
Goals-Against Average
The Owls rank fourth in the A-Sun with a 1.14 goals-against average in conference matches and have only allowed eight goals during league play.
 
Super Sophomore, Part I
Sophomore Maggie Gaughan leads the Owls with 11 points on five goals and one assist this season. She sits in a tie for sixth in goals (five), while also ranking in the top 10 in goals per game (0.31 goals/game, seventh), points (11, 10th) and points per game (10th, 0.69).
 
Super Sophomore, Part II
Redshirt-sophomore Brittney Reed leads the team and ranks in a tie for eighth in the A-Sun with 36 shots on the season and is averaging 2.25 shots per game, which sits seventh in the league in that category. In A-Sun play, Reed is averaging 2.86 shots per match, which ranks sixth in that category.
 
Sturdivant in Goal
Sophomore Olivia Sturdivant sits fifth in the conference with a 1.41 goals against average and has made 38 saves on the year. In A-Sun matches, Sturdivant has lowered her goals-against average to 1.00 to rank fourth in the A-Sun in that category and has only allowed four goals in 360 minutes of action.
 
Internationals Up Top
Freshman Marit Sandtroeen sits right behind Gaughan with seven points on three goals and an assist in her freshman campaign. In conference action, Sandtroeen is the points co-leader with senior Alma Gardarsdottir as the duo each owns three points on a goal and an assist in league play.
 
Calder Named Senior CLASS Award Candidate
On Sept. 2, senior Nicole Calder was named as one of 30 candidates for the 2014 women's soccer Senior CLASS Award. The list is comprised of 30 NCAA Division I seniors who have notable achievements in four areas – community, classroom, character and competition. The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, before the winner is announced during the 2014 Women's College Cup in December.
 
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State soccer news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsSoccer or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
 
Fifth Third Bank is the Official Bank of Kennesaw State Athletics. Fifth Third Bank Stadium is the home of women's soccer, women's lacrosse and football, which will play its inaugural season in 2015.