The Kennesaw State women’s soccer team visited Troy University on Friday, Aug. 24, winning with a 3-1 victory and extending their winning streak to three games.
Two early goals before the nine-minute mark helped propel the Owls into the lead and establish momentum. The win marks the first time the Owls started a season with three consecutive victories since becoming a Division I team in 2005.
Sophomore Forward Erin Harris <– helped create the first goal. After receiving the ball around midfield, she proceeded to run up the wing of the pitch and blazed past two defenders. She then spotted Kendall Higgs and played a cross into the box for a tap-in at the six-minute mark.
Three minutes later, Harris was on the prowl again, this time taking advantage of a costly defensive mistake by the Trojans. Harris noticed an errant pass within the opposition’s penalty box and pounced after the ball, slotting it into the bottom corner to put the Owls up 2-0.
The Trojans were in no mood to give up, as they responded with a goal of their own five minutes later.
From there on, the momentum of the game changed and the pressure was high for both sides. At some points, it was difficult for either team to string a couple of passes together.
After controlling possession for most of the second half, the Owls put together a string of clever passes in the midfield and the ball came to Sophomore Forward Kameron Downs. She found space to shoot from the left wing and rifled a shot at the goalie. The shot took a deflection and floated over the goalkeeper to give the Owls a definitive 3-1 lead in the 71st minute.
“Tonight was a very tough win for our ladies,” head coach Benji Walton said. “It was a huge help to get two early goals that allowed us to calm things down a bit and play composed. I am extremely proud of the team as a whole.”
Next, the Owls traveled to Tuscaloosa and experienced their first loss of the season, losing 6-0 to the Crimson Tide on Sunday night.
Alabama scored in the ninth minute of the game and two more towards the end of the first half to make the score 3-0 going into halftime. The Tide would score three more, one eight minutes after the start of the second half and the other two in the 68th and 78th minutes of play.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Tiffany Sornpao reached a season-high of eight saves as she faced a barrage of shots from Alabama. Sornpao was replaced in the 77th minute by redshirt freshman Grace Weiner.
Alabama dominated the game in terms of chances, out-shooting the Owls 30-6 in total shots and 14-1 in shots-on-target.
The Owls go back on the road next weekend to take on Furman in Greenville, SC. on Friday, Aug. 31, at 7 p.m. and then heads west to play Morehead State in Kentucky on Sunday at 2 p.m.
