AJ Howard (Staff writer)
Head coach Rob King spent more time than usual talking with his youthful KSU soccer team after the unceremonious ending to its game Sunday afternoon.
The Owls (4-8-1, 1-2) pushed Florida Gulf Coast–current Atlantic Sun leader and last season’s runner-up in the conference–to overtime, building confidence before a 93rd-minute FGCU golden goal abruptly ended the game at 2-1.
FGCU forward Ali Rogers scored the winning goal just two minutes and six seconds into the sudden-death overtime period from Melissa Arnold’s corner kick. Rogers took a touch and calmly placed the ball into the net, erasing the Owls’ chance to turn Friday’s win over Stetson into just their second winning streak of the season.
On Fifth Third Bank Stadium’s field after the game, King wasn’t a coach reciting the team’s mistakes back at them. He sat down on the grass, just like the team–on their level. With the squad featuring 16 freshmen and sophomores, everyone is in this maturation process together, and the coach wanted to provide the players some encouragement.
“What I said to them at the end of the game today was: I would be really disappointed if there was a big difference between them and us,” King said. “Then we’d know we’ve still got a long, long way to go.”
Five freshmen started for the Owls as the confidence and familiarity between the team’s nine newcomers and the rest of the squad continues to build. The game featured moments–a one-two combination here, a clever dribble from a defender to get out of trouble there–that suggested a team ready to break out, but it wasn’t quite enough in the overtime defeat.
King said the slim margin of Sunday’s loss, however, could teach the Owls a lesson that will come in handy down the road.
“They’ve got to learn to put these close ones away,” King said. “When you do that, then you have a confidence the next time you’re in that situation. You’ve gotta win one of those close ones first.”
Aside from her 18th minute goal, KSU’s back line did a respectable job keeping FGCU’s Tabby Tindell–the Atlantic Sun’s leading scorer with 14 goals–away from freshman goalkeeper Mady Carter. Tindell recorded two shots, but her goal indirectly came from a KSU giveaway deep in the Owls’ own half.
“Unfortunately the only way you can get experience is by playing in there,” King said, “making those sort of mistakes and being able to recover and learn from them.”
Marit Sandtroeen, one of the players brought in since last season, scored the only goal for the Owls to level the game in the 63rd minute. The freshman from Norway opportunistically put a save from FGCU goalkeeper Brittany Brown right back into the Eagles’ net, tying the game at 1-1 and sparking a period of play in which the Owls seemed the more likely team to grab a winner.
Alma Gardarsdottir had a solid opportunity for the winner with four minutes remaining, but her shot rolled just wide of Brown’s goal. The redshirt senior also tied Brittney Reed with a team-high three shots.
“[Gardarsdottir]’s got a good soccer brain,” King said. “She understands how to combine.”
Gardarsdottir played 49 minutes at forward for KSU. Her height and experience, though her time last season came at center back, add another dimension to the young Owls’ attack. She broke through on goal and forced the deflection that bounced to Sandtroeen for the KSU opener.
Sitting in fifth place in the A-Sun after three of the seven conference games, KSU will have a golden chance to climb up the standings this weekend. The Owls will travel to Florida for a Friday game with third-place Jacksonville (7 p.m.) and a Sunday game with fourth-place North Florida (1 p.m.).
