With the Atlantic Sun Conference regular season title and the top seed at the conference tournament on the line, the Kennesaw State women’s soccer team played Lipscomb University into overtime before falling 1-0 at Fifth Third Bank Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 21.
The Bisons clinched their first regular-season conference championship and earned a first-round bye in the tournament as the Owls registered their first home loss of the season. Despite the close loss, KSU finished the regular season with 12 victories — the highest win total since they earned 17 wins in 2007.
The first half of the match was a slow midfield stalemate. Neither team controlled the game as they managed five shots apiece during the first 45 minutes.
Possession of the ball was hard to come by for the Owls as the usual passing nature of the team was not on display during the first half. Players were not engaging in the string of passes necessary to build up an attack, which is not the usual for the Owls in a home game.
The second half was much different as the Owls controlled the flow, played most of the time in the Lipscomb half of the field and finished the half with a 12-3 shot advantage.
The closest chance for KSU came when sophomore Kendall Higgs, who led the team with three shots on goal, had an opportunity to score from right outside of the penalty box, but her shot skimmed the top of the crossbar.
Both teams went back and forth for the first seven minutes of extra time. The Owls held a strong back line for the majority of the game, but fatigued as the game lingered.
Bisons midfielder Olivia Doaks found an opening on the left side of the goal and passed the ball through the defenders to Maycie McKay who scored the game-winning goal at 98 minutes.
“I was very, very pleased with the girls,” head coach Benji Walton said. “It was one of those heartbreaking games. The good thing is we have games left and our biggest goal has always been the tournament. That is ahead of us and we’re excited and will be as ready as anyone.”
KSU will play next on Friday, Oct. 26, when they open play in the ASUN Tournament. The Owls will travel to Hillside, New Jersey, to take on North Alabama as the third seed. The time of the match is to be determined.
