The Owls won their first conference match on the road against the North Florida University Ospreys 2-1 on Friday, Sept. 30, both goals courtesy of senior forward Maggie Gaughan.
From beginning to end, both teams played aggressively after coming off loses in their conference opener and looked to get in the winning column.
After 10 minutes of play, Kennesaw State University freshman midfielder Isabella Contreras stole the ball and sent a long pass down the field. She connected with Gaughan, who faced a one-on-one situation and finished the play for the first score of the game.
Kennesaw State (6-5-1, 1-1 ASUN) has scored first in 10 of 12 games this season.
North Florida (4-5-2, 0-2 ASUN) tied the game at the 63rd minute, but Contreras connected once again with Gaughan five minutes later. Gaughan found herself all alone in front of the goal and scored the game-winning point for the Owls.
“Isabella beat two defenders, which she is good at doing, picked up her head and made a great cross to Maggie, who made a terrific goal,” head coach Benji Walton said.
Mady Carter, a junior goalkeeper for KSU, made her first appearance of the season in the victory against North Florida, coming up with seven saves, six of those coming in the first half.
“I have a lot of confidence in all of our goalkeepers, and Mady had a good week of practice and earned the start,” Walton said. “The one thing about her is she brings a lot of calm back there with how she plays, and it rubs off on our defense.”
