2014 SCHEDULE | 2014 SCHEDULE (PDF) | VIDEO
 
KENNESAW, Ga. – With a core group of returnees to go along with a talented crop of newcomers, head coach Rob King and the Kennesaw State soccer team looks to take advantage of a challenging 2014 schedule, highlighted by nine home matches played at Fifth-Third Bank Stadium.
 
"It is quite an unusual dynamic on our team at the moment because we have our very solid core group of seniors that are coming back and they expect big things," said King. "We have a very talented group that's coming in. We have a real high level of commitment from the returning players and we have excellent leadership in our seniors and really throughout the team. Below the seniors, we only have one junior on our team and the rest of the players are freshmen and sophomores. We like the way it is looking, it looks very good for the future, but we want that to begin with this particular this class this season and in the conference this year."  
 
The Owls will use three preseason matches to prep for the 2014 regular season slate, starting with a trip to Spartanburg, S.C., to face Wofford on Aug. 10, followed by back-to-back preseason games against Clayton State on Aug. 15 and Middle Tennessee State on Aug. 17.
 
"The three exhibitions will really give us a chance to get to know each other before our actual season begins," said King. "We have a couple at home, one on the road, so our players will experience a road game. Things are a little bit different on the road, obviously traveling, hotels and things like that. I think it will prepare us really well for our opener."
 
KSU will officially kick off the 2014 season in Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a clash with Southeastern Conference (SEC) foe Alabama on Aug. 22, before returning to Kennesaw for its home opener against crosstown rival Georgia State on Aug. 25.
 
"The Georgia State game is one that we are hoping for a massive crowd," said King. "We are also using that as one of our camper reunion nights, so we will get a lot of our local kids coming out and shouting us on. We are hoping to get, I think our target number is over 2,500 for that game. With Mercer leaving our conference, we do not have that in-state rivalry with Mercer that we use to have, so now the Georgia State game has taken on a higher importance for us. We want to set the tone against all the Georgia schools. We played them to a close game last year. We got the result at their home and we want to do the same thing in front of our fans."
 
The season continues with back-to-back tournaments, starting with the Troy Trojan Classic in Troy, Ala., as the Owls face off against the host Trojans on Aug. 29, followed by a first-ever meeting with South Alabama on Aug. 31.
 
Tournament play continues the following weekend at the Blue Raider Classic, hosted by MTSU in Murfreesboro, Tenn., with KSU battling Austin Peay in a first-ever meeting on Sept. 5. The Owls then wrap tournament play with a match against South Florida on Sept. 7.
 
"In each of these tournaments we are playing tough competition," said King. "We have not played Austin Peay, who have done well in their conference the last few years and South Florida is always a very good game. That will be a strong tournament, good teams in it. We then go to the Troy tournament and we have started to play them quite regularly now, whether it is in the spring season or in the fall season. We are developing a little bit of a rivalry there as well."
 
The Owls next return to Fifth-Third Bank Stadium for three-straight home games against Furman on Sept. 12, Memphis on Sept. 14 and UT Martin on Sept. 19, before closing out the nonconference schedule with a trip to Samford in Birmingham, Ala., on Sept. 21.
 
The Atlantic Sun Conference will look a little different with when KSU opens league action against Lipscomb in Nashville, Tenn., on Sept 27 as the A-Sun Conference moves to eight teams with the departures of Mercer and East Tennessee State to the Southern Conference.
 
League play continues with back-to-back home matches, first with the conference home opener against Stetson on Oct. 3, before a date with 2013 A-Sun regular season champion Florida Gulf Coast on Oct. 5.
 
The Owls then head on the road for three-straight A-Sun contests away from Fifth-Third Bank Stadium, with back-to-back matches in Jacksonville, Fla., against Jacksonville on Oct. 10 and North Florida on Oct. 12.
 
KSU wraps its road trip against Northern Kentucky on Oct. 18 in Highland Heights, Ky., before coming home to celebrate Senior Day 2014 against USC Upstate. The Owls will honor the careers of seniors Alma Gardarsdottir, Nicole Calder, Jana Eady, Julia Nelson, Iyani Hughes and Heather Joyce prior to the final match of the regular season on Oct. 24.
 
"For this senior group in particular, we want to go out with a bang," King said. "I think over the last couple of years we have been close and have been knocking on the door, but we have put a group together this year where we expect to dominate our conference.  So that is what we want to do and we want to get it started with this senior group."
 
The 2014 edition of the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship will begin on Nov. 1 with first round matches, followed by the semifinals on Nov. 7 and the championship final on Nov. 9. The location of the tournament will be determined by the regular season champion.
 
The Owls are set to return 13 letterwinners, including eight starters, from a team that advanced to the A-Sun Conference tournament semifinals for the fourth time in program history. KSU wrapped the season at 9-9-1, finishing third in the conference with a 5-3-1 mark. Among those returning are A-Sun First-Teamer Alma Gardarsdottir, as well as second-team honorees Nicole Calder and Brittney Reed. Reed also joined goalkeeper Olivia Sturdivant on the 2013 A-Sun All-Freshman Team. Along with the returnees, KSU will welcome in nine newcomers to this season's squad.
 
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.
 
 

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