KENNESAW, Ga. – On a rainy Sunday afternoon, the Wofford College women's soccer team was defeated 3-1 by Kennesaw State at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. Both teams scored goals in the first half, but the Owls put two into the net in the second half for the victory.
The Terriers had a corner kick just two minutes into the game but were unable to get a shot on net. The Owls had a shot that went off the right post and then was buried by into the center of the net by Lexi Labonte for a 1-0 lead at 10:16. In the 22
nd minute,
Mia Bookhard got to a ball in the corner and crossed it to
Leanna Guion but the Owl's goalie broke up the play. Wofford had another corner in the 24
th minute and kept the ball in the attacking zone for several minutes but were unable to get a clean shot on goal.
Rachel Rasins had a shot that went just wide of the left post. Off the ensuing corner kick
Mia Bookhard had a shot blocked in the 28
th minute. On another corner kick,
Meara Kelly had a shot that went off the cross bar with ten minutes remaining in the half. Kelly added a shot on a loose ball a minute later that was saved. The Terriers were able to find the equalizer on a shot by
Savannah Vathy from the corner of the box into the top left corner of the net at the 43:35 mark. She was assisted by
Katie Gilligan on the goal.
Three minutes into the second half the Owls had a shot high over the cross bar.
Katie Gilligan had a shot blocked five minutes into play and Kennesaw State had the next two chances. At the 54-minute mark
Meara Kelly had a shot saved. After two shots by Wofford, the Owls had a corner kick by Kathryn Schreck that was crossed into the box and Erin Miller found a spot in the lower left of the net between the post and the goalie for a 2-1 lead at 61:15.
Four minutes later
Savannah Vathy had a shot saved and the Terriers had a chance on the rebound but offsides was called. Kennesaw State then had two shots blocked by
Rachel Rasins before Tianna Rivera scored from the top of the 18 with a shot into the bottom right corner of the net for a 3-1 advantage with 67:55 on the clock. Rasins added a shot in the 70
th minute that was saved by the Owls.
Caileen Almeida had a shot blocked and
McKenzie Guest had a shot saved with nine minutes left in the game. The Terriers had a corner kick with five minutes remaining, but the Owls cleared the ball. Wofford had one more shot by
Mia Bookhard but were unable to cut into the lead before time expired.
Overall, Wofford (2-7-0) had 15 shots to 14 for Kennesaw State (3-4-0). The Terriers had a nine to four advantage in corner kicks.
Maria Mon played the first half and
Sophie Hefner (1-2-0) was in net the second half for Wofford. Dylan Pixton (5-1-0) had seven saves for the Owls. It was the first meeting between the two teams since 2008.
The Terriers begin Southern Conference play on Friday, September 24 at Furman University.
