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TEMPE, Ariz. – The Kennesaw State women's lacrosse team battled Arizona State in a defensive showdown before a flurry of late goals saw the Sun Devils pull away to down the Owls 14-7 in their season-opener Saturday night. 
 
Siena Gore showed why she was voted the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, leading the Owls with a hat trick to open the year.
 
Despite recording the loss, goalkeeper Alex Bunn had a tremendous return to the net after missing all of the 2018 season. The senior broke the KSU single-game record with a career-high 17 saves as the Arizona State peppered the net with 31 shots on goal.
 
How it happened: The Sun Devils (1-0) got the game rolling with back-to-back goals within the first minute to take an early 2-0 lead at the 29:10 mark. KSU (0-1) finally got on the board as Gore earned a free position shot, burying the attempt to record the Owls' first goal of the season.
 
After over 10 minutes of back-and-forth action, Anna Giulitto followed suit with a free position goal of her own to tie the game 2-2 with 19:17 to play. Gore gave KSU its first lead of the night, 3-2, netting the Owls third straight goal. 
 
Arizona State responded with three straight goals of its own before Izzy Palermo pulled one back for the Owls with under four minutes to play.
 
Bunn recorded eight saves in the opening period to keep the Owls within one, 5-4, at the end of the half. 
 
Gore recorded her first hat trick of the year just moments into the second half, converting a free position shot to level the game 5-5. The Sun Devils went on to regain the lead with back-to-back goals before Abby Squires netted her first goal of the season to make it 7-6.
 
As KSU looked to tie the game up, the Sun Devils pulled away in the blink of an eye with three goals in just over a minute to lead 10-6 at the 13:24 mark.
 
Freshman Chesslyn Lamar attempted to reignite the Owls with her first career goal, but the ASU defense clamped down shutting the Owls out over the final 12 minutes while netting four goals, three in the final two minutes, to record the win.
 
Notes: Siena Gore's hat trick marked her 17th career game with three or more goals … Gore also recorded a team-high four draw controls … with her 17 saves on the night, Alex Bunn moved into third on the KSU career saves list with 157 … Marissa Gore had a stellar night, tying her career-high with four ground balls while setting a new career mark with 3 caused turnovers … Haley Swift logged a team-high two assists … the Owls finished the game 3-of-4 on free position shots, compared to 1-of-3 for ASU … Maura Palandro's two ground balls moved her into fourth all-time on the career ground balls record list with 80.
 
Up next: KSU heads to Music City to take on Vanderbilt next Saturday (Feb. 16) at 2 p.m.