JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Kennesaw State extended its unbeaten streak against Jacksonville to eight straight games dating back to 2016 and earned a huge 1-0 victory to improve to 2-1-1 in conference play. Hayley Dekker scored her first career goal and Allanah Blye posted her third shutout of the season to lead the Owls.
"It was a hard-fought three points today," said head coach Benji Walton. "I'm very proud of how our team bounced back after a tough loss last weekend and rallied today. I thought it was the most complete 90 minutes we have played against an organized and physical team in Jacksonville. The conference is so close right now and this was a huge moment for our team and hopefully a huge momentum boost going into next week. I was just really, really pleased with our overall effort with the entire group today. I thought we attacked well and were really balanced."
Dekker notched her first career goal in the 15th minute to put the Owls on top, 1-0. The defender's goal was set up off a corner kick and curled the shot inside on the back left for what would be the game-winning goal. The early goal allowed the KSU offense to control the game.
"It was huge," added Walton. "We were attacking like we wanted to, but Jacksonville makes it challenging and is really good at blocking shots and not giving you windows to shoot. For Hayley to step up today and get her first goal today was huge for us and lifted our team. We had some more chances that would have sealed it away. Hayley's goal took the pressure off us early and allowed us to play the way we wanted to play."
The KSU attack finished with 11 shots and six of those were on goal. The KSU defense limited JU to just seven shots and the three shots-on-target, both figures were season-lows for Kennesaw State. The additions of a healthy Erin Miller and Camryn Simmons in the backline were instrumental against the Jacksonville offense.
"It was nice having our team a little healthier than we have been the past couple of games. Having Erin Miller and Camryn Simmons back there together was awesome for our team. It made our team deeper and allowed our team to find that rhythm that we had going into conference play. They just all played well. JU's attack has a lot of pace up top and if you aren't ready for it, Jacksonville will expose you. I thought Erin and Camryn, with their veteran leadership, were able to contain them."
Next Match
The Owls travel to Florence, Ala., to take on North Alabama Thursday at 8 p.m.
To keep up with the latest on the Kennesaw State women's soccer team, follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsSoccer or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
