KSU’s soccer team wrapped up its preseason schedule Friday night on a positive note with a 3-0 exhibition victory against Clayton State at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
Head coach Rob King’s squad was looking to rebound from the shutout loss at home to Wofford in the first exhibition game. They did so in style, beating an outmatched Lakers team for the third consecutive year.
First half goals from Katrina Frost and Suzanne Arafa gave the Owls a lead at the break– one they would not surrender. Arafa completed her brace in the 88th minute to finish off the scoring.
Early on, the game was contested almost entirely in midfield, with both teams struggling to piece together complete attacks. Even though the Owls spent most of the first 20 minutes with the ball, they could not parlay that into any goals until making a substitution.
Preseason All-Atlantic Sun forward Frost began the game on the bench, but she entered after 21 minutes, coming in for freshman Shannon Driscoll. The veteran forward immediately changed the game with her hold-up play and intelligent runs.
Frost beat the Lakers’ keeper, Charlotte McCormack, to a Maggie Gaughan pass in the 30th minute and finished from a tight angle. Frost only made a quick cameo but showed the instincts that allowed her to lead the team in scoring in 2012.
“I think [Clayton State] were just getting a little tired in there,” said King about Frost’s goal. “We had them running a lot.”
14 minutes after the opener, the Owls would double their lead when a skillful dummy from Iyani Hughes on the right wing freed up the junior forward to send in a cross, a pass that Arafa would not waste. The goals scored by the freshman midfielder earned her high praise from King after the game.
“Suzanne, she’s a top-quality player,” said King. “She’s very creative, very composed on the ball and very confident.”
Defensively, the Owls only conceded six total shots in a solid effort. Goalkeeper Olivia Sturdivant returned to the net for the Owls, but had just a single save in a relatively calm night, in which she was barely tested.
The Owls were not quite as sharp in the second half, which King called “a little ragged at times.” Just five of KSU’s 16 total shots came after halftime. The comfortable lead did, however, allow the coaching staff to play every player that they felt was healthy, providing a good chance at gaining experience.
Transition is a common theme in most preseasons, regardless of team or sport, and the Owls are no exception. Adding nine new players to a team is never an easy task, yet King’s team seems to have handled it well. All three goals were either assisted or scored by a freshman, an obvious indicator that the newcomers are immersing themselves.
“We’re very athletic, and we knew that coming in,” said King. “The thing was, how long was it going to take before they got the cognitive side of what we were doing? It seems like they’re picking that up quite quickly.”
A Knoxville trip is next up for the Owls, as they open up the regular season at 5 p.m. Friday against Tennessee Tech, as part of the University of Tennessee’s First Friday series. Also in Knoxville, KSU will face off with Big 12 opponent Oklahoma on Sunday at noon.
