KSU’s #15 Addison Neel defends against UNF defender. Fifth-Third Stadium, August 31st, 2025 Photo Credit: KSU Athletics
In a return to home turf on Sunday evening, the Owls got out of the loss column with a 2-2 draw against non-conference opponent North Florida.
After a two-game road trip where they lost to both Auburn and Georgia State, the Owls returned to Walens Family Field at Fifth Third Stadium to take on UNF.
The Ospreys opened up the scoring in the 15th minute of the first half on an unassisted goal byAlison Souers, putting North Florida up 1-0.
UNF nearly gave themselves a 2-0 lead in the late minutes of the half, but Owls goalkeeper Sara Hill made an impressive save, tipping the ball over the goal and keeping the Owls at a one-goal deficit.
“Great save by Sara,” coach Chris Cahill said. “We have an extremely good core of goalkeepers and she came up big tonight for us.”
KSU tied the match just seconds before halftime on a goal by Rebecca Womer, assisted by Delaney Edwards, taking a 1-1 game into the locker room. The goal was her first goal with the Owls and the Owls’ first goal of the season.
UNF had six shots on goal in the half, while the Owls only had one.
The early second half saw a lack of offense, with only one shot on goal seen between the two teams in the first 20 minutes.
The Ospreys took the lead minutes later, however, on another unassisted goal by Souers in the 68th minute, this time ricocheting off the crossbar and in, and making the match a 2-1 lead for UNF.
Souers, a sophomore for the Ospreys, scored one goal in the 2024 season and has already beaten her freshman total.
In the 78th minute, KSU was awarded a penalty kick, taken by Raelyn Prince. She was able to convert, and the Owls tied the match at 2-2, which is where the score remained until the match’s end.
With the tie tonight, the Owls were able to break the three-game losing streak that started the season.
“It feels good to see us get out of the rut that we were in,” Cahill said. “We didn’t play to not lose the game; we played to win tonight.”
KSU will hope to continue this momentum when they travel to Mercer on Thursday.
