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TAMPA, Fla. – Kennesaw State women's lacrosse received goals from five different players in Friday night's season-opening 19-6 loss on the road at South Florida.
KEY PLAYERS: Lavona Watkins led the way for KSU with a pair of goals, while
Shannon Harrington,
Hannah Davis,
Cohen Ridenour and
Jordyn Olivo all added one goal each.
Natalia Cruz meanwhile collected 10 saves in her first career start.
THE RUNDOWN: The host Bulls rode the momentum of their home opening crowd to score the first six goals of the game. Davis would claim the first goal of the night for the Owls, who then seemed to settle down as the game went on. KSU posted back-to-back scores in the second quarter to close within 9-3, and would score two of the first three scores to open the third quarter. The Bulls responded with a run to open up a 14-goal lead before the Owls made the final score of the night.
POSTGAME QUOTES – Head Coach Laura Maness
"Our girls showed a lot of grit today. We stayed composed through a tough away battle and I'm super proud of in-game adjustments we made to answer back. Today was a game of firsts for several of our younger players including Cohen getting her first goal. I was also happy how
Sophia Nunez stepped up on the draw for us. I'm proud of our captains in SK, Hannah, and Alyssa for keeping our team locked in and leading."
NOTES
-The Owls narrowly lost the draw control battle 15-14. Nunez, a freshman, finished with a game-high four for KSU while classmate
Lexi Tinker had three as well.
NEXT UP: The Owls take the short drive to Gainesville to face the ninth-ranked Florida Gators on Sunday in an 11 a.m. contest. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
