An early Shannon Driscoll goal was the catalyst in KSU’s 1-0 victory over Lipscomb on Saturday night in the first round of the Atlantic Sun soccer playoffs.
KSU seemed to have scored seconds earlier when Jewelia Strickland’s corner found the head of Nicole Calder. Calder’s header appeared to cross the line, but the freshman forward Driscoll nudged the ball home after a deflection. Neither team would score again in what KSU head coach Rob King felt was a deserved victory.
“I think on the balance of play, the better team won on the night,” King said. “I’m real proud of the effort we gave and the goal that we got.”
Even though the goal came from a deflection, Driscoll cutting inward from the left gave Lipscomb trouble numerous times. The trifecta of Driscoll, Maggie Gaughan, and Katrina Frost led the way as the Owls tallied 20 shots, ten of which came on goal.
KSU’s movement up front provided one of the team’s most interesting attacking performances. Brittney Reed returned to her usual right back position, but was able to overlap because the player in front of her, Elizabeth Johnson, is listed as a defender and covered efficiently.
Gaughan nearly created a second goal when she earned a penalty kick for KSU in the 55th minute. The Owls looked confused as to who should take the kick, until Alma Gardarsdottir finally stepped up. Her shot to the right side was not enough, though, and Buhigas was able to limit the damage.
A strong defensive performance allowed the Owls to hold out for the 85 minutes after Driscoll’s goal. Gardarsdottir’s miss would prove to be inconsequential, as the All-Atlantic Sun defender gave a steady performance for a unit ranked third in the A-Sun with 1.18 goals allowed per game.
Central to that defensive performance was stopping the A-Sun’s co-leading scorer, Lipscomb forward Ellen Lundy. The 6’1” freshman dropped into midfield, hoping to neutralize Calder’s aerial prowess. Lipscomb head coach Kevin O’Brien told Lipscombsports. com after the game that it was by design.
“Part of the game plan was to not allow Calder to get her head on it,” O’Brien said. “That was just impossible. She was great and really led her team to victory.”
KSU goalkeeper Olivia Sturdivant earned her seventh shutout of the year on the night. Despite only needing to make three saves, her play at the back calmed things down, even as Lipscomb frantically searched for an equalizer to save its season.
“They were trying it in behind a lot and she was great off her line,” Strickland said of the freshman goalkeeper.
The Owls move on to the A-Sun semifinals to face No.2 Jacksonville, another opponent the Owls have already beaten this year. Although the Owls managed a 2-1 overtime victory, the team was forced to change its system because of JU’s unique formation.
“They play quite an unusual system in the midfield, where they play four in a box,” King said after the teams’ earlier matchup this season. “It’s not every day you see that.”
Jacksonville vs. KSU takes place on Friday at 4 p.m. in Fort Myers, Fla., at the FGCU Soccer Complex. The winner of the ASun.TV-televised game will meet the winner of FGCU- Mercer in the conference championship on Sunday at 1 p.m., available on ESPN3.