SCORE: Kennesaw State 14, Furman 16 RECORDS: Kennesaw State (5-6, 1-0), Furman (7-3, 1-0) KEY PLAYERS: Hannah Barth (3 goals, 1 GB), Siena Gore (2 goals, 2 GBs, 4 DCs), Camryn Klaus (2 goals, 1 GB, 1 assist), Marissa Gore (1 goals, 5 GB, 9 DCs, 2 CT), Natalie Welch (2 goals, 1 asst), Abbey Behn (2 goals) and Julia Weiss (12 saves, 5 GBs, 1 CT). THE STORYLINE The Kennesaw State women's lacrosse team fell short in another tight back-and-forth battle Friday afternoon as Furman held on to a late second half run to down the Owls 16-14. MANESS QUOTE On the close battle… "I think we battled really hard. I'm happy with the energy and effort today, we were leading for almost the entire game. This is our third really well fought game where we just ended up falling short at the end. Our hearts are in it, our minds are in it, the girls are doing everything they need to be doing with the scout, with film and with effort and so I'm really proud of our team and how they battled. It's heartbreaking to keep falling short at the end, but I think people stepped up and filled some roles today. Hannah Barth had a tremendous game with a hat trick as a freshman, Natalie Welch had two goals and Abbey Behn getting subbed in to score two goals, Payton Gregory, a defender, pushed a fast break and got a goal of her own and then in total there were eight girls scoring which is really balanced. I think the energy was good, we won the ground ball game which is the number one indicator of heart and hustle and we won that 21-17. I can't ask for a better group of hard-working girls, now we just have to make small tweaks and close these games out. That's all it really boils down to and I think that these scores will flip because we are right where we need to be and they are holding their heads high and they're proud of the effort they're putting on the field." HOW IT HAPPENED A defensive battled ensued between both squads to kick off Friday's contest until Camryn Klaus netted a free position shot to put KSU on top 1-0. After Furman responded to tie the score, freshman Hannah Barth fired a shot down the middle less than a minute later giving the Owls the 2-1 lead. The Owls and Paladins began trading shots with KSU holding on to a 5-4 lead thanks to goals from Siena Gore, Marissa Gore and Barth. The Paladins capitalized off of an error from the Owls to tie the game yet again, 5-5, with less than nine minutes left in the half. KSU continued to pressure Furman as it forced five caused turnovers in the first half compared to two turnovers by the Owls. Locked at 6-6 behind a goal from Abbey Behn, the defenses stood strong in the final minutes until Siena Gore broke through to net a goal with six seconds left sending the Owls into halftime leading 7-6. The Owls continued to bring the heat early in the second half as Klaus and Natalie Welch each netted goals to extend KSU's lead to 9-6. Furman then went on a 4-0 run for its first lead of the game, 10-9, at the 19:15 mark. A free position goal from Emily Napierala would equalize the score with 15 minutes remaining in the second half. The Paladins responded with four goals in quick succession to extend their lead to 14-10. The Owls attempted to mount a comeback scoring back-to-back goals as Barth earned her hat trick followed by a goal from Welch to cut the lead to 14-12. The squads continued to trade goals with Payton Gregory recording her first of the season, but Furman had a response each time hanging on for a 16-14 decision despite a last second goal from Behn. NOTES - Siena Gore was held to a season-low two goals, playing in only the first half of the game. - Hannah Barth recorded her first career hat trick. - Abbey Behn logged a career-high two goals. - Julia Weiss finished with 12 saves, her fifth game this year with double-digit saves. - KSU won the ground ball battle 21-17, its sixth straight game with at least 20 ground balls. - Furman out-drew KSU 19-14. UP NEXT The Owls hit the road for its second ASUN game of the season, taking on Liberty next Friday (Apr. 16) at 1 p.m.