The Women’s soccer team finished the season with a bang after a winning drought.
The Owls 2023 campaign came to a close on Thursday, Oct. 26 with a loss to Austin Peay in the first round of the ASUN tournament.
In its final season as a member of the Atlantic Sun conference, soccer looked to leave a lasting impression in its last matchups against their rivals. The Owls got off to a slow start in league play but finished strong.
The season got underway with back-to-back shutouts from goalkeeper Allanah Blye against East Tennessee State and Presbyterian. Strong defense and goalkeeping would be the theme all season for the Owls.
After two losses at the South Alabama Tournament in Mobile, Alabama, the Owls returned home to host the Florida Gators of the Southeastern Conference. Despite being underdogs, the Owls were able to pull out a 1-1 draw.
Things would quickly get ugly after the encouraging start. As non-conference play finished and ASUN play began, the Owls would go five straight games without a goal, compiling a 0-3-2 record over the stretch.
The Owls finally opened their account against Eastern Kentucky and Florida Gulf Coast but still could not achieve a winning result, as both games finished in 3-1 defeats.
With its back against the wall, soccer finally got in the conference win column with consecutive 1-0 victories against Stetson and Jacksonville.
Back-to-back draws against North Florida and Austin Peay put the Owls in position to get back in the top eight and qualify for the ASUN conference tournament.
After a hard-fought loss to first-place Lipscomb, KSU finally scored more than one goal in a contest to beat Queens 3-1 and qualify for the ASUN tournament.
In the first round of the ASUN tournament, the Owls would hold the sixth seed and face Austin Peay. After a goal from Tianna Rivera in the 79th minute put the Owls ahead, Austin Peay would answer right back to send the game to extra time. After two scoreless 10-minute periods, the two teams would head to penalty kicks to crown a winner. The Owls fell 3-2 in six rounds of penalties and finished their season with an overall record of 4-8-7.
Aila Swinton, Tianna Rivera and Agata Giani all led the way with 2 goals a piece. Swinton would finish alone at the top with 6 points total.
Goalkeeper Allanah Blye started 16 of the Owls’ 19 games and compiled an impressive 7 shutouts with a save percentage of .708.
There remains much improvement as the Owls transition to a higher level of play in Conference USA, but a strong finish in 2023 leaves plenty of encouragement to build on.
