For most teams, homecoming weekend is a chance to coast against an overmatched opponent and leisurely watch a parade. Instead, KSU soccer had to settle for two crucial Atlantic Sun matches against the first- and second-place teams in the conference.
The Owls, who were winless since October 4th, were in desperate need of a positive performance in the last home matches of the season to keep up with the pace in the Atlantic Sun playoff battle. KSU (7-7-1, 4-2-1) earned four points from the two weekend matches, winning against Stetson and drawing with Florida Gulf Coast.
Elizabeth Johnson’s 44th minute goal was the difference in Friday’s 1-0 victory over Stetson. The midfielder’s initial headed effort was deflected back to her, and she finished superbly with to the upper- right corner of Stetson keeper Victoria Triccoli’s net.
The Owls also celebrated Senior Night on Friday.
Seniors Kelsey Barr and Tasia Williams, along with redshirt junior Katrina Frost, celebrated their last regular-season matches at Fifth Third Bank Stadium and were presented with commemorative soccer balls before the Stetson match.
“It’s definitely been a bittersweet weekend, with it being my last time playing in the stadium,” Frost said. “It’s nice to go out on a good note.”
On Sunday, neither KSU or FGCU could get on the scoreboard, and the teams played to a scoreless draw after two overtimes. Katrina Frost’s disallowed goal after she was ruled offside was as close as the Owls would come to scoring, but they managed to earn a draw with the top- ranked squad in the A-Sun.
The weekend’s results place the Owls in a three-way tie with Mercer and Stetson for third place in the conference. Six teams will qualify for the tournament, one which KSU and its head coach, Rob King, have high hopes for if they can qualify.
“We’re getting to the point where I think the team is believing in themselves,” King said. “They believe they can win this thing.”
A large part of the belief comes from the Owls’ strong defense, which earned goalkeeper Olivia Sturdivant her fifth and sixth shutouts of the season, despite facing the league’s top attack in FGCU, which was averaging 2.31 goals per game coming into the weekend. Junior Iyani Hughes, normally a forward, was singled out by King after the game for her play, but according to Barr, it was a team effort.
“Everybody, the whole team, was defending,” Barr said. “I’m just so proud of us.”
Only two regular-season matches remain for KSU, both of them in Jacksonville, Fla. The Owls play the A-Sun’s current second-place team, Jacksonville, on Friday at 7 p.m., and then complete the 2013 regular season on Sunday against North Florida at 1 p.m.
