DeLand, Fla. - Freshman twin sisters Colleen and Katie O'Kennedy (Oviedo, Fla.) scored in the same game for the first time in their college careers and junior midfielder Kaisi Hartwick (Granite City, Ill.) scored her first goal of the season, but it was not enough for the Stetson women's soccer team (2-10-2, 1-4-1 Atlantic Sun) in a 6-3 loss to league-leading ETSU (11-3-0, 6-0-0 A-Sun) Friday evening at the Stetson Soccer Complex.
Colleen O'Kennedy found the net for the first time in her Stetson career to open the scoring in the 15th minute, receiving a pass from sophomore forward Kait Jones (DeLand, Fla.) and blasting a 20-yard shot to the top right corner. However, Jenna Caudle's equalizing goal in the 20th minute would touch off a five-goal avalanche from the Lady Bucs over a 47-minute span that all but buried the Hatters beneath it. Caudle would finish with a hat trick for ETSU.
A mere 12 seconds after the last of those five goals made it 5-1 ETSU, Stetson senior midfielder Alexis Hermosa (Orlando, Fla.) found Katie O'Kennedy with a cross that the freshman finished to the upper left corner from 15 yards to bring the home team back within three. Caudle's third and final goal of the match in the 74th minute put the issue out of reach, but the Hatters were able to at least put a third tally on the scoreboard when Hartwick's 80th minute corner kick took an accidental deflection off a Lady Bucs defender and went in the net. As the defender did not make an attempt to play the ball away and directly cause the goal, the score was credited to Hartwick rather than as an own goal.
Senior goalkeeper Grace Turner (Fort Myers, Fla.) made seven saves in net for the Hatters before being relieved by sophomore Laura Seletos (New Port Richey, Fla.); the latter made one save. For ETSU, Morgan Thomas and Genna Petersen each had a goal and an assist to complement the Caudle hat trick while Lucy Goffe scored as well. Caitlin Gaughan made two saves for the Lady Bucs.
Stetson will celebrate Senior Day prior to its 1:00 pm Sunday kickoff with A-Sun foe USC Upstate, the home finale for the Hatters in 2011. Upperclassmen honorees this year are Hermosa, Turner, Courtney Jenista (Pensacola, Fla.), Samantha Snyder (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.), Jennifer Rinaberger (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.), Crossley Simmons (Winfield, Ill.), Samantha Jones (DeLand, Fla.) and Sarah Rodriguez (Deltona, Florida).
Live Stats and Hatter Vision will be available at GoHatters.com.
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