Kennesaw State Women’s Soccer fell to Lipscomb by a score of 1-0 in the ASUN tournament final on Saturday, Nov. 6.
The Owls junior goalkeeper Dylan Pixton made nine saves on 10 shots on goal from Lipscomb, her second-best record of the season.
“She really left it all out there,” Owls head coach Benji Walton said. “In my opinion, she’s the best keeper in the conference. Unfortunately, we didn’t give her the shutouts as a team to give her the credit that she deserves in terms of an All-Conference award, but she’s lights out.”
Pixton, along with freshmen Macie Rainwater and Aila Swinton, was named to the ASUN- All-Tournament team.
“[Pixton’s] calm and cool yet explosive and deserved a better fate tonight for sure,” Walton said. “She kept us in it until the end.”
The game-winning goal occurred at the 22-minute mark, a tap-in from Lipscomb player Kammy McGee. This gave Lipscomb their third ASUN championship in four years.
“You’ve got to tip your cap to Lipscomb, they came to play,” Walton said. “We didn’t really have a lot of answers for them tonight. That’s why the target is on their back every year. I thought we really fought for it and I’m so proud of that, but we just couldn’t find the rhythm we like to have in attack.”
The Owls finished their season 9-8-2 overall, going 4-3-2 in conference play.
Sophomore Ebony Clark was named to the ASUN First Team All-Conference, after leading the team in regular-season goals with five.
Juniors Kendall Higgs and Erin Miller were both named to the second team, which marks Higgs’ second year in a row receiving the accolade.
Rainwater and Swinton were both named to the ASUN All-Freshman team, with Rainwater finishing third in the regular season in goals, Swinton had previously been named the ASUN Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 19.
Two of the Owls’ biggest games this season came from ASUN opponent Central Arkansas, who they beat twice with a score of 4-3. Once during the regular season and again in the quarterfinals of the ASUN tournament.
In the quarterfinals, Rainwater scored a hat trick, becoming the first Owl since 2016 to do so. She is only the fourth person to score a hat trick in ASUN championship history and the first since 2010.
The Owls beat Bellarmine 1-0 in the ASUN Semifinals, sending them to the championship against Lipscomb, a rematch from 2019 where the Owls lost in a shootout.
Through the entire season, Rainwater led the team in goals with seven across 18 games. Kathryn Schreck led the team in assists, with four over the season.
Pixton also shined this season with a .786 save percentage, and only a 1.46 GAA across 19 games.
The Owls will return in the 2022 season.
