Soccer won its first game of the season against Jackson State 1-0 in a physical match on Sept. 22 at Fifth Third Stadium.
It was the Owls’ first win since Oct. 21, 2023 against Queens, and Chris Cahill’s first win as Kennesaw State’s head coach.
“I’m happy that the girls are starting to pick up some cohesion within each other,” Cahill said. “We asked them to mature into really hectic games. I think at the last part of the second half, they did a very good job of trying to find the ball and working for each other so I’m proud of them.”
After a physical first half, KSU got off to a very strong start to the second half.
Macie Rainwater secured her fourth goal of the season assisted by Aly Bryan, giving the Owls a 1-0 lead in the first minute of the second half.
“She’s starting to really change who she is as a forward,” Cahill said. “She’s starting to be more aggressive towards the goal. It’s something that we’re going to continue to work on.”
The Owls’ defense was stellar throughout the rest of the second half as they held JSU without a goal.
KSU embraced a physical match as there was a total of four yellow cards in the game, three of which came against JSU.
This shows how tough we can be,” Cahill said. “I think the girls now have a level and a standard they have to live up to. Things got a little bit physical and dirty at parts, but I think we finally got challenged and they stepped up to it.”
The Owls look to improve on opportunities for scoring in their next game.
“We’ve got to find a way to continue to keep the ball, but really find a way to keep finishing,” Cahill said. “This could have been a 4-0 game if we finished the opportunities we had in front of goal.”
The Owls hosted Louisiana Tech in their second Conference USA matchup of the season on Sept. 26 at Fifth Third Stadium, drawing 0-0.
