JACKSONVILLE, FLA – The Jacksonville University women's soccer team hosted Kennesaw State in their second conference game of the season on Sunday afternoon at Southern Oak Stadium. The Dolphins (0-8-2) battled with Kennesaw during a midday match up through the lingering late September heat and fell by the final score of 1-0.  

"It is tough on a hot day like today to battle. We created more chances in this game than we have the rest so that is a step in the right direction for us. It was hot for both teams and it comes down to mental toughness," commented Head Coach Laura Busby.
 
The first half was in Jacksonville's favor as the home team came onto the field dominating in the opening minutes of play.  JU recorded a total of four shots on goal in the first 45 minutes.  Freshman forward Olivia Abdallah went 1-on-1 with the Kennesaw keeper five minutes into the first half to fire off the first shot of the afternoon. Two minutes later junior midfielder Emma Vasquez slid past 2 Kennesaw defenders to take a shot right to the center of the net.
 
The lone goal of the afternoon came in the 9^th minute when Isabella Contreras beat senior goalkeeper Kristian Shores with help from Emely Sosa. Shores made 8 saves on the afternoon in addition to JU putting up 2 team saves as well.
 
At 20:57 senior midfielder Maya Fisher saw an opportunity to put the Dolphins on the board first, but her shot was saved by the Kennesaw keeper. Fisher, who recorded three shots on the afternoon is recognized as the Hodges Mazda Player Of The Game.  In the final seconds of the half freshman defender Rachel Walters put everything she had behind a shot after bringing the ball up the field but just missed the net.
 
Jacksonville entered halftime trailing Kennesaw State by one.
 
"We had one off the crossbar and that changes the game if one of those goes in the back of the net," added Busby.
 
After halftime JU returned to the field with a sense of urgency and motivation. Jacksonville maintained possession of the ball for most of the second half to record five more shots on goal.
 
Less than one minute into the second half Abdallah found herself in the box again one-on-one with the keeper to record her second shot of the afternoon. Fisher also recorded another pair quickly after at 51:47 and 55:48. Vasquez tallied one more for the home team at 61:31 and Abdallah closed out the afternoon in the 84^th minute after one more attempt to tie the game in the final minutes of regulation.

 
"I thought we did a much better job of battling in the second half. We'll continue to work and find ways to put the ball in the box. Busby continued.
 
The Dolphins will go on the road this coming week for their next two games as they face Stetson and FGCU.