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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State women's lacrosse team has made a habit of jumping out to large leads in the first quarter and that was true again on Tuesday, as the Owls scored seven of the first eight goals of the game on the way to a 16-5 victory over Radford at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. The Owls are out to a 4-3 start to the season with the win, tied for the second best start in program history, while the Highlanders dropped to 0-5.
KEY PLAYERS: Fresh off winning ASUN Player of the Week honors which was announced during the game, senior midfielder
Siena Gore scored the day's first goal of the game on the way to a four-score performance. She also posted double-figures for draw controls (10) for the third time this season.
McKenzie Jackson meanwhile notched her second hat trick of the season with three scores.
THE RUNDOWN: Six different KSU players scored in the first quarter, beginning with Gore's opening goal less than two minutes in.
Natalie Welch added her fourth of the year for a 2-0 lead, and it would be a 7-1 lead for the Owls before Radford closed the quarter with a score. After allowing two scores in the first quarter, the Owls limited Radford to just one goal in the second and only two total scores after halftime thanks to a smothering defensive performance.
QUOTEABLE: "I think today was again another good team effort to get the win. We really focused on winning the small battles throughout the game. We had the edge today on draw controls, ground balls, shots and obviously on goals. Those are the hustle plays that matter, and I think the team really brought their 'A' game today. It was also nice to see eight people on the score sheet as well with several goals assisted, overall it was a really nice team effort on offense." -
KSU head coach Laura Maness.
NOTES
-The 4-3 record matches last year's start to the season for the Owls. The best seven-game record for KSU is a 5-2 mark to begin the 2017 campaign.
-Also scoring for the Owls on Tuesday was
Mia MacKenzie,
Hannah Barth and
Jaxsyn Schonewille, all with two each while Welch,
Zoe King and
Caroline Farley all finished with one score for the game.
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Julia Weiss (3 goals allowed, 4 saves) and
Errin Crowe (2 goals allowed, 2 saves) split the time in goal with each playing a half for KSU.
-The Owls outshot Radford by a 34-14 margin. KSU also held the edge on ground balls (17-16) and draw controls (16-9).
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls are back home at Fifth Third Bank Stadium for a Saturday, March 12 contest against Butler at 12 p.m.
