A broken down bus could not stop KSU’s soccer team from its plans for revenge over Georgia State, as the Owls beat the Panthers 1-0 on Friday, Sep. 6th, at the GSU Soccer Complex.
Nicole Calder’s 86th minute goal, her first of the season, was the difference in the fourth meeting between the teams. With overtime looming, the junior pounced on a ball lofted into the box by Jewelia Strickland, scoring past GSU goalkeeper Brie Haynes. Calder’s goal was the finishing touch on her regular season debut, which came after sitting out the first four matches because of an injury. “[Georgia State] beat us last year, 2-1, and we wanted to make sure they definitely didn’t beat us this year,” Calder said. “It felt pretty amazing to be out there with the girls.”
The Owls moved to 2-3-0 on the season after the late-game heroics. The victory ended a three-game losing streak during which the Owls were unable to score a single goal.
Neither team could assert itself in the first period, with both teams struggling to maintain possession and unsuccessfully resorting to long balls. Attacking midfielder Suzanne Arafa and the three forwards found themselves isolated from the deeper central midfielders, Calder and Hannah Churchill. “We were a little bit disjointed,” head coach Rob King said. “We had a couple players playing in new positions tonight, and it looked like it in the first half.”
King said he wanted Calder to advance a bit more in the second half, hoping to more effectively link up defense and attack. The coach was not satisfied with his team’s movement and tempo in the first half, and the combative Calder seemed to execute the change more than any other Owl.
“We said we were going to come out a lot harder in the second half because we have a point to prove,” Calder said.
While Calder’s late goal was the exclamation point, KSU controlled play for a majority of the second half and had eight shots on goal in total. The control could not transition itself to the scoreboard, though, and King thought that two or three chances should have been put away before the goal.
The Owls’ forwards, however, are still in search of their elusive first goal. Despite some bright moments, the Owls again had to look elsewhere to find scoring. Freshman striker Maggie Gaughan led all players with four shots on goal, but was unable to find the back of the net.
At the other end, KSU’s strong defensive performance forced most of GSU’s shots to come from outside the box, and only three of the their 13 shots made it on frame. Freshman goalkeeper Olivia Sturdivant saved all three in the process of earning her second clean sheet of the season.
The Owls are back in action Friday against Mississippi at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in the second consecutive home opener against SEC opposition.
