KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State women's soccer team battled to a 2-2 tie against Georgia State on Sunday night at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
Erin Miller scored her third career goal,
Macie Rainwater scored for a second straight game and
Kaylee Hammer set a career-high with seven saves to lead the Owls.
"I was really pleased with how we played," said head coach
Benji Walton. "Thursday, we got behind in a bad way early and chased the game. We fought back but it just wasn't our night. Tonight, I thought we did a much better job finding each other and keeping the ball better, building attacks rather than just hitting the ball and hoping something will happen. There was a lot of progress against a really good team that is unbeaten. We had a chance to win but we had a miscue on defense that cost us the win. But I'm just really proud of the result and the growth of a young group."
Georgia State opened the scoring with a Maddie Johnston goal 14 minutes into the contest.
The Owls' offensive attack resulted in several opportunities over the remainder of the half. KSU had four straight corner kicks near the 32-minute mark as Rainwater and
Agata Giani had excellent looks near the goal but could not find the back of the net.
On the next corner kick,
Mai Jensen placed a great pass just outside the box and Miller capitalized with an equalizer two minutes before halftime.
In the second half, Georgia State pushed the pace offensively, resulting in several chances but the KSU back line and Hammer held strong to keep the match tied at 1-1.
"The back line did a great job tonight," added Walton. "They are growing a ton, coming together and starting to figure some things out.
Juliette Barbush and
Naomi Moleka both had their first career starts in the back line and both played great games and did a great job."
In the 69
th minute,
Tianna Rivera hit a cross from the left corner of the field that bounced off the right post and Rainwater was there to clean it up for the go-ahead goal to put KSU up 2-1.
The Panthers tied the match at 2-2 on an Elena Diaz penalty kick with nine minutes left. Neither team could capitalize over the final minutes and the game resulted in a draw.
Next Match
The Owls travel to Clinton, S.C. to face the Presbyterian Blue Hose on Thursday at 7 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.
