CLINTON, S.C. – The first collegiate goal in the career of true freshman
Sloan Spees evened up the bout at one apiece in the Presbyterian College women's soccer team's nonconference tussle with Kennesaw State on Thursday night, although the Owls were left with enough time on the clock to break a 1-1 tie and turn it into a 2-1 decision in the visitors' favor.
PC will remain at Martin Stadium over the next week with two more opponents coming to visit, the first of which will be the Bulldogs of The Citadel on the eve of Labor Day at the close of the weekend.
FINAL SCORE: Kennesaw State 2, Presbyterian 1
RECORDS: Presbyterian (0-3-2), Kennesaw State (1-3-1)
LOCATION: Martin Stadium
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After preventing both ETSU and Alabama State from scoring over the full match throughout their last two appearances, the Blue Hose's lofty defensive efforts as of late were eventually thwarted by KSU to the tune of one goal in each half. The Owls' Chiara Singarella turned in an assist on the game's opening strike in the 28
th minute before doing the job herself in the later stages of the contest to seize the victory for the away side.
Despite PC outshooting their opponent through the first 45 minutes, a theme that has been mostly consistent for head coach
Brian Purcell's club, the Owls went into the halftime break with a 1-0 edge once Singarella found Stella Allen to break the ice on the scoreboard, breaking a 227-minute streak of PC opponents failing to find the back of the net. It wouldn't take long for Presbyterian to answer once play resumed in the second stanza, securing their second strike of the year in dramatic fashion.
Receiving a prodigiously-placed ball from junior midfielder
Caitlin Murphy, Spees made the most of the one-on-one opportunity against KSU goalie Allanah Blye, cashing in on the chance to deadlock the score at 1-1 at the 54:35 time stamp.
Blye and Blue Hose keeper
Kelly Hall added up for 11 saves in the matchup, both turning up with clutch plays over the back-and-forth home stretch, but it would be Singarella who turned the tide in Kennesaw State's favor, putting in an unassisted score with 11 minutes to go to turn a tie into a W.
Over the final two minutes and 27 seconds, coach Purcell's squad nearly cemented their third straight tie by catching the Owls off guard as the clock struck down. However, a pair of shot attempts in that window - the second in a free kick capacity that sailed inches too high – couldn't deter the game's final score.
UP NEXT:
Continuing the team's home-heavy nonconference tendencies, the Blue Hose will stay put at Martin Stadium for the next two matchups, beginning on Sunday when hosting The Citadel. Currently at 1-2 on the semester awaiting a Friday match with USC Upstate, the Bulldogs will make the in-state trip for the ninth all-time meeting in the series, with five of those swaying towards a win for Presbyterian.
First touch on Sept. 4 is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
