Kennesaw Flys Past West Virginia
KENNESAW, Ga. – Cody Clark had 10 points helping Kennesaw State improve to 3-0 after a decisive 20-5 victory over West Virginia on Friday night at the Owl’s Nest.
The Owls led from the beginning as the Mountaineer defense was never able to cover Clark, who found himself uncovered for most of the evening in KSU’s open offense. For the evening, 16 of the Owl’s 20 goals were assisted, something the coaches were happy to see.
“Our goal coming in was to be at 70 percent assisted goals and we achieved that,” said coach Tyler Yelken, “it’s always good to see that many assists on the stat sheet.”
The Owls went up by four before West Virginia was able to sneak one by Connor Hanson, who finished with five saves.
Kennesaw would go on to score seven more before the halftime whistle, including goals from Jack Wilson and Matt Weir -- their first on the season.
A developing trend for the Owls has been the offensive threat of the team’s defenders. Both Trey Koons and Hunter Neely tallied a goal for the Owls against WVU. In three games, Owl long sticks have notched five goals. Not since 2013 have four different long poles scored goals for the Owls in a season.
“Our poles shoot in practice, but their offensive success is purely a result of the talent we have on defense," said assistant coach Tom Mudrak. "They have been making great decisions in transition and it is showing in the stat sheet."Ed Thorne added another five goals to his resume, bringing his season total to 12 through three games. Tyler Mathews added two goals and three assists. West Virginia mustered only 11 shots on goal for the evening.
The University of Louisiana-Lafayette is up next on the schedule. The 6-1 Ragin’ Cajuns bring their high-powered offense to the Nest on Sunday. ULL is averaging 19 goals per game this season after making the move to MCLA DII.