Petersen scores 11th goal of season as ETSU pours on 22 shots

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 21, 2011) – ETSU and Kennesaw State both scored in the opening twenty minutes of the game; however, neither team could find the game-winner through regulation and both overtime periods as the ETSU women’s soccer team tied the Owls, 1-1, Friday night at Summers-Taylor Stadium.

Kennesaw State struck first when Katie Schwartz scored in the 14th minute, but senior Genna Petersen (Loveland, Ohio) netted the equalizer three minutes later to pull within one goal of tying former Lady Buc Erin Ashton for the program’s single-season goal scoring record.

ETSU (11-4-1, 6-1-1 A-Sun) gained a point in the conference standings but now trail FGCU and Jacksonville by three points. The Lady Bucs can still earn the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the A-Sun Tournament with a win against Mercer on Sunday.

Kennesaw State (6-8-2, 2-5-1 A-Sun) moved from eighth place into a tie for seventh in the A-Sun standings, but played itself out of the conference tournament. The best KSU can do now is finish in a tie for sixth place with Mercer, but the Owls will have lost the head-to-head tiebreak having been defeated by the Bears, 1-0, last Friday.

Both ETSU and KSU had their chances to grab the lead, as ETSU finished with a 22-20 shot advantage, but senior goalkeeper Caitlin Gaughan (Indianapolis, Ind.) and KSU’s junior goalkeeper Melissa Hutto made incredible stops to keep the game at a draw. Gaughan finished with six saves, one ahead of Hutto’s five.

In the coldest weather the Lady Bucs have played in at Summers-Taylor Stadium this year, ETSU got off to a hot start with Petersen’s first of a team-high seven shots on the night. The senior’s early attempt was blocked over the line for a corner.

Sophomore Samantha Kron (Paradise Valley, Ariz.), the Lady Bucs’ biggest threat from the corner this year with three assists and a goal off corner kicks, stepped in for the set piece that eventually found freshman Jenna Caudle (Middletown, Md.). The team’s second-leading goal scorer fired her first of four shots in the match, but Hutto was there for one of her five stops on the night.

KSU got warmed up in the 12th minute when Sofia Blanco stepped in for the Owls’ first corner attempt. The cross was cleared, but KSU stayed on the attack with a shot which led to another corner.

Blanco’s second attempt of the night sailed into the box and created havoc. The Lady Bucs went up to clear the ball, but instead hit it off the crossbar as the ball bounced back into the field of play. With the ball loose in the box, Schwartz came up and fired in KSU’s first goal of the match to put the Owls ahead.

The lead did not last long, as Petersen pulled through with her conference-leading 11th goal of the season less than three minutes later. With ETSU in possession of the ball near midfield, the Lady Bucs’ leading goal scorer received a pass and dribbled the ball through KSU defenders and into the right side of the box. From just inside the penalty area, Petersen took a shot back towards the near post which beat the outstretched Hutto and went into the bottom-left corner of the net for the equalizer.

Only one shot came on goal for either side through the remainder of the half, as ETSU and KSU took the 1-1 score into the break. The Owls held an 8-6 shot and 3-1 corner advantage after the opening 45 minutes.

After junior Morgan Thomas (Maryville, Tenn.) put two shots at Hutto in the 16th minute of the second half, Gaughan pulled through with the save of the night. Shelby Crosby received a through ball for KSU and got the senior keeper one-on-one. Mere feet from each other in the penalty area, Crosby fired to her right only to watch Gaughan react with a brilliant save.

Katrina Frost, KSU’s leading goal scorer, tried to put in the rebound, but her attempt went wide. The shot was one of a game-high eight for Frost, as the game remained deadlocked.

A back-and-forth second half saw ETSU take nine shots to Kennesaw’s eight, as KSU’s fifth corner of the night was cleared out with under a minute to go and the two team’s awaited the start of overtime.

Frost opened the extra session with a shot saved by Gaughan, before Kron stepped in for back-to-back ETSU corners. The first of the two corners found Thomas as the Maryville, Tenn. native took a chance which was blocked over the goal line for a second corner. Sophomore Ramey Kerns (Kings Mountain, N.C.) collected the second attempt from Kron, but blasted her shot wide.

ETSU’s best chance at a victory came in the second overtime period when freshman Tessa Johnson (Knoxville, Tenn.) nearly scored off another Kron corner. With just over six minutes remaining in the game, Johnson settled the cross as it came through to the opposite side of the box. With the ball at the far post, Johnson shot back towards the near post and beat Hutto, but an Owl defender standing at the goal line cleared away the shot before it went in.

Petersen and freshman Emilee Engelhaupt (Charlotte, N.C.) put two more shots at Hutto in the final minutes, but neither came as close to Johnson’s attempt as the match ended in a draw.

The Lady Bucs will now look to Sunday, when they close out the regular season at home with a chance to clinch a first-round bye in the A-Sun Tournament against Mercer at 1 p.m.

For more information on ETSU women’s soccer please visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s soccer links. Fans can also visit the Lady Bucs on Facebook at ETSU Buccaneer Women's Soccer.