Kennesaw State (0-6-1, 0-0-0 CUSA) vs. UTEP (3-3-2, 0-0-0 CUSA)
Location: Kennesaw, Ga. - Fifth Third Stadium
Thursday, Sept. 19 @ 7 p.m. ET
Live Stats:
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Live Broadcast:
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Follow the Action: @KSUOwlsSoccer
Kennesaw State (0-6-1, 0-0-0 CUSA) vs. Jackson State (0-4-1, 0-0-0 SWAC)
Location: Kennesaw, Ga. - Fifth Third Stadium
Sunday, Sept. 22 @ 12 p.m. ET
Live Stats:
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Live Broadcast:
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Series History vs. UTEP:
N//A
Series History vs. Jackson State:
Series Record -- 1-0, KSU
Last Match -- W, 3-1 (8/29/08)
First CUSA Game
Thursday's match up means far more than your run of the mill conference season opener as KSU will partake in the first Conference USA match in Kennesaw State Athletics history. After spending nearly two decades in the Atlantic Sun, they will face the UTEP Miners for the first time in program history.
Florida Spotlights
Although the result didn't go the way of the Owls, there were a few new faces to appear for KSU. For the first time in her career, redshirt freshman
Caroline Wehr entered the game and earned her first collegiate save. Along with Wehr, midfielder and former LSU transfer
Raelyn Prince made her first start as an Owl. The junior appeared in 43 minutes over just two games before making the starting lineup. Cornerstone defender
Jade Barkett made her return for the first time since Georgia Southern (8/22) as she also scratched the starting lineup.
Injury Bug
KSU has been unable to escape injuries thus far as they have had seven separate potential starters sidelined throughout the season. The Owls have issued a different lineup in each of the last four games. Not only have the Owls had four different variations of their back line but they have also had to use three goal keepers due to injury (Bernal, Rosenblum and Wehr). By Thursday, The Black and Gold will have only five players who have started every game this season (Rivera, Nesbit, Wowk, Bryan and Moleka).
On The Job Learning
Since replacing
Charlee Bernal during the No. 16 Georgia game, true freshman
Aryana Rosenblum has stepped up between the posts for the Owls, appearing in three straight games. She's responsible for the lone clean sheet of the season (UNF) while compiling 18 saves in under 300 minutes played. The Oviedo, Fla. native is the last true freshman to start at goalkeeper since
Allanah Blye in 2022. During the Florida game, Rosenblum was part of a nasty collision resulting in her exit of the game as Caroline Wher replaced her in goal. The red shirt freshman collected four saves in her first collegiate appearance.
New Year, New Us
Under a new scheme with coach Cahill, Kennesaw State has been productive early in matches. In the Mercer and Eastern Washington games, The Owls scored their first goal within the first eight minutes. It took the Black and Gold eight minutes to nab their first goal of the season whereas it took 135.5 minutes during the '23 campaign.
The Freshman Wave
Kennesaw State's first year student-athlete's earned the spotlight versus No. 16 Georgia as four Owls collected their first collegiate minutes in the Black and Gold.
Aryana Rosenblum,
Morgan Mahoney,
Phoebe Scott and
Delaney Edwards all recorded at least eight minutes played. On top of that, freshmen
Bella Stephens and
Layla Kerr also played double digit minutes versus the Bulldogs.
The Return of the Storm
Senior
Macie Rainwater tallied two scores versus Eastern Washington Sunday becoming the last Owl to do so in two years. Rainwater was also the last Owl to do so, as she has recorded multiple goals game the last three times in program history. Not only did she do so against Stetson (10/23/22), but she recorded a hat trick versus Central Arkasnas the season prior (09/30/21). She's the last Owl to accomplish the same feat versus a non-conference opponent since Kendall Baker versus Gerogia State (8/25/2019). Six freshmen have touched the pitch for Kennesaw State this year with Kerr and Rosenblum earning well over triple digit minutes on the season.
Blue Weather
Georgia weather has not been a friend thus far to Kennesaw State home matches as both Sunday matches at Fifth Third Stadium have been cut short due to inclement weather. During the Eastern Washington game, the final eight minutes were not played as hte Owls shortly after the Owls captured momentum, resulting in a 2-3 loss. In the match versus ETSU, the first 45 minutes were played before lightning surrounded the area, forcing a no-contest.
Leader of the Charge
Head coach
Chris Cahill leads the Owls in his first season as head coach after spending the '23 season as the associate head coach at KSU. Prior to KSU, Cahill earned over a decade of experience at Middle Tennessee State University serving as the Blue Raiders' associate head coach. He coached 29 all-conference selections including Conference USA's all-time goal scoring record and points holder, Peyton DePriest. Before MTSU Cahill served at Evansville, Auburn and at Harrison High School. During his time at Harrison, he collected a 28-4 coaching record. It's a welcome back for Cahill as he served as the Assistant to the Director of Student-Athlete Services in 2008. He assisted with advising, class registration and supervised study hall. He is the only NCAA DI women's soccer head coach that also served on the academics side of the same school he coached at.
The State Run
Kennesaw State is the only Georgia school slated to face all four Division-I in-state schools (Mercer, No. 16 Georgia, Ga. Southern and Georgia State). The Owls battled No. 16 Georgia. It was the highest ranked team KSU has faced since 2019 when KSU traveled to Lawrence, Kan. to face the No. 14 ranked Jayhawks. They wrapped up the Peach State run with Georgia State in Atlanta.
Been There, Done That
Of the 22 returners for the Owls, five are seniors with three being fifth year graduate students. Headlining the group are forwards
Tianna Rivera and
Macie Rainwater who have tallied nine conference awards collectively. Most recently, Rivera earned a Third Team All-ASUN bid in the final year of the ASUN era. Anchoring the backline is 2023 minutes leader,
Jade Barkett. Barkett tallied her first collegiate goal last year. Rounding out the bunch are midfielders
Teresa Wowk and
Juliette Barbush.
By the Skin of Their Teeth
The Owls set the single season record last year with seven draws, four of those being shutouts. The seven ties ushered into the top 10 for a single season, marking the fourth time the Black and Gold have pitched seven shutouts.
A Stark Difference
KSU's familiarity with their opponents will be there in the first half of the season but it quickly dissipates. Through the first seven games, Kennesaw State's series history with each team spans more than five matchups. At the start of conference play, that number drops significantly. At the start of the Conference USA season on Sept. 19, the Owls will face six of seven CUSA teams for the first time in program history. The odd team out is MTSU for a single contest played in 2017. The Black and gold will then wrap up CUSA regular season play with former ASUN rivals, Jacksonville State (Oct. 26) and Liberty (Nov. 1).
Year Two
Sophomore
Anabel Orozco impressed in year one earning an ASUN All-Freshman spot in the final year for KSU in the conference. She racked up 717 minutes, the second most among freshmen while scoring an impressive goal from outside of the box versus South Alabama. Orozco was implemented for the first time this season versus Georgia Southern after battling injury. The Fayetteville, Ga. native plans on joining the Navy post graduation.
Injection of Youth
Along with a slew of veteran talent, coach Cahill will welcome nine freshman to the roster this season. Highlighting the bunch is the midfielder from McKinney, Texas,
Ava Bradford. Coming off an outstanding season, at Frisco Independence, Bradford landed on the United Soccer Coaches All-American Team last summer. For the first time in D-I program history, The Owls have recruited a freshman from the state of Tennessee (
Morgan Mahoney) and Texas.
Portal Players
The newcomers are exclusive to high school products as forward
Makai Laguines and midfielder
Raelyn Prince join the squad via the transfer portal. Laguines tallied nearly 1,000 minutes in 15 games for the Marshal Runnin' Herd in '23. Prince is fresh from LSU where she appeared in 30 games for the Tigers over two seasons.
Staff Pickup
The newest addition of the Owl coaching staff is assistant coach Wezly Barnard. Barnard comes straight from the Southern Soccer Academy where he served as the Director of Coaching Atlanta in 2023. He has specialized in goalkeeping throughout his career after his playing days at Young Harris ('13).
Milestone Watch (Career):
Jade Barkett - 1958 career minutes played
Juliette Barbush - 1817 career minutes played
Macie Rainwater - 14 goals & 87 shots
Brenna Young - 904 career minutes played
Recently Passed Milestones
>>
Aly Bryan (Career Minutes Played) -- 2,000 mark surpassed versus Georgia Southern
>>
Tianna Rivera (Career Shots) -- 100 mark surpassed versus Eastern Washington | 75 games played versus Georgia Southern
>>
Naomi Moleka (Career Minutes Played) -- Surpassed 2,000 career minutes versus Mercer
About Our History
>> The Owls will be navigating un-chartered waters in the '24 season as they take the leap to Conference USA
>> Spent 18 years in the ASUN Conference, Finishing top three in the league nine times
>> 14 winning seasons, 237-141-41 record (.615) -- Just three head coaches since 2022
>> Reached the NCAA Tournament two times ('07 & '09)
Next Match
The Black and Gold will have their fist back-to-back home games since the first two games of the season as they face Jackson State Sunday at 12 p.m. ET.
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