Razorbacks Fall to Owls in Final Minutes of Play
To prepare for the upcoming game at 1p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9 against Florida State at Razorback Field, the Razorback soccer team has played a series of challenging games, including Sunday night’s game against Kennesaw State.
“They will be different games for sure,” said UA head coach Colby Hale of next week’s Florida State game. “We’re excited about the opportunity. Tonight stings, you know? I mean, it felt like we played well enough to win but at the end of the day we didn’t.”
The Arkansas Razorbacks and the Kennesaw State Owls played 86 minutes before the Owls scored the first and only point of the soccer game at Razorback Field.
KSU forward Iyani Hughes shot into the top right corner of the goal with three minutes and 18 seconds left on the clock to earn the win for her team.
Arkansas ended the night with 12 corner-kicks and one save, while KSU had seven corner-kicks and seven saves
“We had 25 shots with seven on frame and 12 corners,” Hale said. “You know, when we have 12 corners and 25 shots, we need to score some goals.”
Arkansas did a lot of things really well on the field, but their “composure and sharpness in front of the goal wasn’t very good,” Hale said.
The Razorbacks narrowly missed a goal at 38:42 when sophomore forward Beth Stratton passed the ball up to freshman forward Ashleigh Ellenwood, who broke away from KSU’s defenders and sent a shot just left of the goal.
At halftime the score was tied 0-0 with Arkansas leading in shots-on-goal with one. Arkansas had first possession of the ball in the second half.
KSU’s midfielder Kelsey Barr received the only yellow card of the game in the second half after she slide-tackled a UA player on the boundary by KSU’s goal. Arkansas took a corner-kick following the card. Ellenwood headed the ball toward the goal and again when the ball ricocheted back to her, but the shot was blocked.
Soon after, sophomore forward Jeriann Okoro scooted past the KSU goalkeeper as the ball slipped through her hands and took a shot that landed too far to the right on the outside of the net.
With six minutes left in the game, Okoro gained possession of the ball and passed it to senior midfielder Andrea Carlson, who took a ground shot at the goal, which was saved by KSU’s goalkeeper.
“It’s positive and negative,” Hale said. “The things we worked on this week we were very good at. It’s like I said, when you get 25 chances and only put seven on frame, that’s not good, and you’ve got to score a goal or more with 12 corners and 25 chances. It’s bittersweet.”
