by AJ Howard (Staff Writer)
KSU soccer’s preseason schedule continued Friday night with a 6-1 home victory over Clayton State in an 80-minute exhibition.
Though head coach Rob King’s new formation and a variety of newcomers gave KSU a new feel, sophomore Brittney Reed led the way for the Owls, just as she did for much of the 2013 season.
Reed’s right foot delivered the lobbed assist for the opening goal, which was scored by Marit Sandtroeen in the 10th minute after a nice touch past the Clayton State goalkeeper.
Much of Reed’s freedom to attack down the right flank came from King’s system change, which pushed her forward as a right wing-back. King mentioned Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands team, which reached the World Cup semifinals this summer, as a point of reference for the strategy.
“That system sets up very well for us,” King said, “particularly because of Brittney Reed. Because she’s so strong going forward, it causes teams a lot of issues.”
Almost twenty minutes after the KSU lead doubled though a 12th-minute own goal by a CSU defender, Reed again played provider. This time, she found freshman Khatra Mahdi with a ground cross that the forward made no mistake in putting away to make it 3-0 at halftime.
The Owls kept the pressure on the Lakers in the second half, with three more goals bringing KSU’s total to six–double the KSU output from last season’s exhibition between the teams.
The new system largely held up defensively, too. Aside from giving up a sloppy second-half goal, the KSU defense showed the versatility required to successfully operate with wing-backs. Even if King decides to revert to a four-player back line in the regular season, the possibility of a back-up plan would be valuable.
Tactics weren’t the only thing new for the Owls in the victory, though. Eight newcomers saw action for the Owls, with three finding the back of the net. Ava Scott-Moncrieff also joined fellow international freshmen Sandtroeen and Kahdi in the goal column with her 77th-minute penalty kick.
King said the development of the freshman has come along nicely, even in the face of the tough transition many are facing.
“I’m very pleased with where [the freshman] are right now,” King said. “But I think in another week, another two weeks, we’ll be in an even better place.”
Although King suggested the second half pace wasn’t to the same standard of the first half, sophomores Cassidy Kemp and Maggie Gaughan also scored added goals for KSU in the second half.
The Owls complete their exhibition schedule on Sunday at 5 p.m. at Fifth Third Bank Stadium against Middle Tennessee State.
