Aly Bryan’s lone goal was enough to earn Kennesaw State their first win.
After a 2-1 road victory against the Blue Hose last season, Kennesaw State opened up its home schedule with a 1-0 win against Presbyterian College on Sunday, Aug. 20.
Sophomore Allanah Blye started as goalkeeper Sunday after taking over for Kaylee Hammer five games into the 2022 campaign. Blye, who had a GAA of just 1.14 last season, was able to eclipse the career milestone of 100 saves against Presbyterian.
The first half yielded little action. While neither team accounted for a shot on goal, feature players including sophomore Mai Jensen and junior Macie Rainwater had a number of good looks at the goal throughout the half.
Headed to the locker room scoreless, it was beginning to look as if the Owls’ offensive struggles from their opener at East Tennessee State had carried over. While KSU was getting looks all night, finishing still did not come easy as the Owls consistently put open shots wide.
Less than a minute into the Second Half, sophomore midfielder Aly Bryan tapped in a goal to finally break the seal for the Owls in 2023. A perfect cross from Macie Rainwater left Bryan with nothing to do but be at the right place and time.
“Aly is always geared up, always ready to go,” Head Coach Benji Walton commented. “She wants to be around the ball constantly and we love the effort.”
Later in the half, Macie Rainwater put a strike on goal from outside the penalty box that just barely couldn’t squeak past the outstretched arms of Presbyterian keeper Kelly Hall. Mai Jensen also couldn’t capitalize on a golden opportunity when she put a header from the edge of the 6-yard penalty box just over the top of the crossbar.
Presbyterian wouldn’t go away in the final 15 minutes, however. A ball squeaked loose in the KSU penalty area with just 14 minutes to play. Luckily, it found the hands of a swooping Allanah Blye who brought it to the ground safely. Just a few minutes later, Presbyterian got two threatening looks on a breakaway. The initial shot was stopped by Blye and the follow-up went just wide off of a KSU defender.
Ultimately, the Owls’ stronghold of a defense prevailed and puts them at 1-0-1 on the season. Next, the owls will head to the Southern Alabama tournament this week before returning home to face the SEC’s own Florida Gators.
“We’ve been playing good defensive ball,” Walton said. “But we have to keep the ball better and build and attack better.”
KSU will return to the pitch on Aug. 24 to take on the Troy Trojans.
