The Kennesaw State soccer team continued its season by splitting two matches, falling 1-0 to North Florida on Thursday, Oct. 3, before defeating Stetson 3-0 on Sunday, Oct. 6.
On Thursday night, the Owls faced off against North Florida at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. The inability to complete a sequence of passes and break into the opponent’s third of the field led to the Owls conceding early.
“[UNF] was more energetic in the first and second half with the ball,” head coach Benji Walton said. “We were slow to wake up. Overall, [I am] disappointed in our approach. The energy wasn’t what I thought it was going to be.”
The lone goal of the match was scored on eight minutes after the Ospreys converted an early opportunity. A UNF player sent a low cross from the left edge of the box to the feet of Leah Ferlin, who controlled and quickly chipped the ball past the diving goalkeeper Tiffany Sornpao for the 1-0 lead.
The UNF defense was solid and constrained any form of build-up play by the Owls.
The two shots taken by junior Isabella Contreras and freshman Becky Contreras provided some hope for the Owls offensively. On 87 minutes, KSU got its first shot on goal, finishing with just six shots in total.
On Sunday, KSU came on the pitch looking more prepared against Stetson than North Florida a few days earlier, winning 3-0 over the Hatters.
Junior Erin Harris assisted senior Emely Sosa with a goal straight to the back of the net at 16 minutes.
Right before halftime, junior Kameron Downs sneaked a fast-break shot into the net after receiving it from midfield to make it 2-0.
“I give credit to Harris,” Sosa said. “She made it easy, and honestly without the team coming together this would not have been possible.”
In the second half, KSU continued creating offensive chances to keep the pressure on Stetson. Sosa scored another goal on 54 minutes, assisted by the build-up play from Harris and Becky Contreras.
The Owls would finish the game with 18 shots and held Stetson to only two.
“We’ve been discussing over the past two days on regrouping,” Walton said. “[UNF] gave us a wake-up call. Every game is going to be intense, this one was no different.”
KSU will be on the road this week in an ASUN Conference matchup on Thursday, Oct. 10, against Florida Gulf Coast University.
