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KENNESAW, Ga. – On a very cold afternoon in which the temperature was just above freezing at the start, Kennesaw State senior
Siena Gore heated up the nets as she tied her own school record with a nine-goal performance, including a tying goal with just over three minutes left, but Butler took advantage of a double-man up opportunity and scored the game-winner 40 seconds later to escape with a 12-11 win over the Owls in women's college lacrosse action Saturday from Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
KSU saw its two-game win streak snapped as it fell to 4-4 on the year, while Butler improved to 4-2 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
KEY PLAYER: Gore was everywhere for the Owls on Saturday, just missing out on a double-double with her nine goals along with a season-high 11 draw controls. She was 4-of-6 on free position opportunities and collected two ground balls in the game.
THE RUNDOWN: The game was in the Bulldogs favor at the start, with the visitors jumping out to a 7-2 lead five minutes into the second quarter. Gore started an Owl run with a score at 6:14 of the second quarter and ended a 4-0 KSU run with a goal that just beat the halftime buzzer to bring the Owls within 7-6.
After the teams traded goals to start the third, Gore posted back-to-back scores to give KSU its first lead of the game at 9-8 the 5:38 mark. The game would be tied twice and the lead changed hands twice over the next 17 minutes of the game, as Gore again scored to make it an 11-11 contest while the Owls were playing a man down. Right after the draw control, KSU was issued a green card for a substitution infraction, leading to the Owls playing down two and Butler cashed in on its opportunity for the game-winner with 2:42 left in the game.
QUOTEABLE: "I'm proud of how our team came back, after being down 7-2 at one point. I think a lot of our issues at the beginning were adjusting not only to the wind but the cold weather, we've never played in freezing temperatures before and I think that really aided to Butler's fast start. We were able to make the needed adjustments though to get us back in the game. Individually today, Siena was brilliant today in the in the draw circle and her scoring, she really put the team on her back. Both of our goalies having a 50% day is typically on a normal day going to win you a lot of games." -
KSU head coach Laura Maness.
NOTES
-The Owls' other two scores on the day came from
McKenzie Jackson and
Chesslyn Lamar, who also had both of KSU's assists in the contest.
-Julie Weiss played the first half in the cage and collected seven saves with seven goals allowed, while
Errin Crowe finished with five goals allowed and five saves.
-KSU held a 16-14 edge on ground balls. Butler was ahead in draw controls 14-12.
-One key for KSU was its 19 turnovers for the afternoon to just nine for the Bulldogs.
-Butler also held an overall 34-26 shot advantage.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls are back in action with a pair of road games in Washington, D.C., beginning with a Tuesday, March 15 contest at Howard at 3:30 pm.
