Lady Bucs score three unanswered to rally by the Owls

KENNESAW, Ga. (Sept. 28, 2012) – The ETSU women’s soccer team scored three unanswered goals, including Ramey Kerns’ (Kings Mountain, N.C.) ETSU record-breaking 13th of the season, to roll past Kennesaw State in Atlantic Sun action, 3-1, on Friday night at KSU Soccer Stadium.

Nicole Calder put Kennesaw State (4-6-1, 0-1-1 A-Sun) ahead in the 14th minute, but ETSU (8-3-0, 2-1-0 A-Sun) responded in a big way beginning with Kerns’ goal in the 22nd. Jasmin Dutton (Kinmel Bay, Wales) put ETSU ahead with 20 minutes to play, and Sarah Zadrazil (St. Gilgen, Austria) knocked in her fourth of the year to shut the door on the Owls.

Kerns’ goal broke Erin Ashton’s previous ETSU record for goals in a season set in 2002.

“I’m really honored to have broken the record, and couldn’t have done it without the great play of my team,” a humble Kerns expressed. “While it is a great personal accomplishment, my main goal is to help this team win a conference championship, and hopefully I can continue to do that the rest of the season.”

Kerns has certainly helped the ETSU attack through the first 11 games, accounting for 54 percent of the team’s 24 goals. Heading into the week, she ranked second nationally in goals scored while the Lady Bucs ranked inside the country’s top 50 scoring offenses at 2.10 goals per game. The Lady Bucs improved upon that mark Friday night, netting three en route to an impressive win on the road.”

“I’m very happy with the performance,” ETSU head coach Adam Sayers said. “We started very strongly and imposed ourselves on the game from the kickoff. I thought we were playing well and had the majority of possession in the first half, but Kennesaw broke through on the free kick. We didn’t panic, stuck to the game plan and managed to equalize through Ramey in addition to creating several other chances.

“I thought Kennesaw played well in the second half. They had some good spells of possession, but we defended quite well and were able to take the lead off Jasmin’s header and add on with Zadrazil’s goal off the counterattack.”

ETSU may have controlled possession in the opening portions, but it was Nicole Calder who put the Owls on top with an early strike. Jewelia Strickland sent a free kick into a crowded box, and Calder headed the chance to the right side to grab KSU the lead.

ETSU was quick to respond, as Samantha Kron (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) setup a goal from the corner less than 10 minutes after Kennesaw had taken the lead. Sophomore Ellis Parsons (Cardiff, Wales) got a head on Kron’s corner, and took a shot at goal that was saved by Melissa Hutto. The deflection hit off the post, but Kerns was there to equalize and break Ashton's record.

“I was just there to kick it in,” Kerns said. “Ellis got a head on it and [Kennesaw’s] goalie deflected it off the post. I was just looking for an opportunity to put in any loose ball, and I got it.”

The Lady Bucs threatened Hutto with 10 shots and six corners in the first half, but went to the locker room level at 1-1.

The beginning of the second half belonged to the Owls, as Kelsey Barr, Calder, Julia Nelson and Katrina Frost all put shot attempts at ETSU keeper Kara Krajenta (Cordova, Tenn.), but were off target on each attempt. It was not until the 64th minute that Kerns fired ETSU’s first shot of the half, which Hutto was there to save. After Kerns’ shot, the flow of the game seemed to change sides with the Lady Bucs grabbing possession and Emilee Engelhaupt (Charlotte, N.C.) taking ETSU’s 12th attempt at goal.

Dutton subbed on for Lucy Goffe (Birmingham, England) in the 67th minute, and put ETSU ahead less than four minutes after stepping onto the field. Again, it was Kron who lined up a corner which Dutton headed toward the right side. Hutto got to the ball, but after it had already crossed the goal line as ETSU took its first lead of the game.

With KSU looking for an answer, ETSU capitalized by scoring on the counter. Kerns gained possession near midfield, and dumped off a pass to Morgan Thomas (Maryville, Tenn.) streaking down the left side. Thomas sent a low cross through the box, which Zadrazil one-touched through to seemingly finish off the Owls.

“Zarazil played brilliantly all game,” Sayers added on the play of his freshman. “The midfield was very congested, and she didn’t have a lot of room to operate in, but still influenced the game and played very well.”

ETSU will head two hours down I-75, completing the weekend on Sunday in Macon, Ga. against Mercer at 1 p.m.

ETSU Notes

- Ramey Kerns scored her 13th goal to break Erin Ashton’s decade-old ETSU record for goals in a single season. She now has 29 total points on the year, just one shy of Erin Ashton’s record of 30 set in 2005.

- Samantha Kron registered two assists on the night, setting up ETSU’s first and second goals from the corner. It was the first multi-assist game of her career, as she now has four assists on the season.

- Jasmin Dutton netted the first goal of her ETSU career, notching what proved to be the game-winner in the 71st minute.

- Ellis Parsons recorded her first assist of the year, as her shot was saved off the post before Kerns leveled the game.

- Morgan Thomas picked up her third assist of the season, finding Sarah Zadrazil with the late insurance goal. Zadrazil’s goal was her fourth of the year to go along with her team-leading seven assists.

For more information on ETSU women’s soccer, please visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s soccer links.