Mercer University
Kennesaw St.
Bears, Owls Fight to 1-1 Tie in Conference Opener
9/22/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Mercer women's soccer team played to another dramatic finish against in-state rival Kennesaw State on Friday night as the teams fought through two overtimes to end in a 1-1 tie.
Mercer took the initial lead off a goal from sophomore Washida Blackman with less than 10 minutes to play in regulation and looked poised to take the 1-0 victory for the third year in a row. Unfortunately a untimely foul just outside the Mercer box set up a free kick for Kennesaw St. with a over a minute to play.
The Owls took their time setting up the kick and Katrina Frost took a well-placed low liner to beat freshman keeper Maggie Cropp to her left side. The goal came with 1:20 remaining in the second half and forced the teams into overtime.
These same two teams played two overtimes two years ago in KSU Stadium with Mercer pulling off a 1-0 win on a last-second free kick, unfortunately on Saturday MU could not come up with the golden goal.
"It was a great conference opener for us in a huge rivalry," head coach Tony Economopoulos said. "It was a tough game and unfortunately we had a late penalty that led to their goal but I was pleased with how we fought throughout the game."
The first half played out fairly even between the two teams as each unloaded five shots, however Kennesaw St. held the slight advantage as four of their shots were on goal. Mercer's Tess Patton did her best to get the Bears on the board in the first as she recorded three shots in the half.
In the second things remained competitive and it wasn't until less than 10 minutes to play that the Bears were able to score. Washida Blackman scored her first of the season when she collected a loose ball off a corner inside the KSU box and buried a close-range shot.
Mercer did a good job neutralizing the KSU attack throughout the night, however the Owls were able to get a call just outside Mercer's box to set up the free kick.
Frost was able to find the correct line to beat Cropp who had taken over for junior Nikki Atkinson in the second half.
"I am proud of the way we played tonight," Economopoulos said. "We continued to create our chances in the overtime periods and played strong until the end."
