Kent State University
13-5-2, 9-2-0MAC
#8 Ohio University
7-10-3, 4-5-2MAC
Kent State Advances to MAC Tournament Semifinals in Penalty Kick Thriller
10/29/2017 5:16:00โฏPM | Women's Soccer
KENT, Ohio โ The Kent State soccer team (13-5-2, 9-2-0 MAC) advanced in the MAC Tournament on penalty kicks (4-2) over the Ohio Bobcats (7-10-3, 4-5-2 MAC). The match goes into the record books as a 1-1 tie, with Kent State outlasting Ohio on penalty kicks. For the second consecutive season, Kent State advances to the MAC Tournament semifinals and will host the MAC Tournament semifinals and championship at Dix Stadium.
"You have to give a ton of credit to our players for the adversity they overcame today for really coming through," said Kent State head coach Rob Marinaro. "You name it they were dealt it today, for them to bounce back and really finish it is a credit to them. You have to survive and advance in the tournament."
The match was tied, 1-1, at the end of regulation with both goals occurring in the second half. The Flashes jumped on the board first in the 64th minute on freshman Vital Kats' fifth goal of the season, which was assisted by freshman Cameron Shedenhelm. Ohio was quick to respond in the 69th minute on a corner kick which was lofted in by freshman Sara Kattainen and finished off with a header by junior Mandy Arzen.
"I knew it was a tournament game and you have to leave it all on the field," said Kats. "Scoring really motivated me to keep going and keep pushing until the very end."
During the second overtime period, in the 106th minute, Kristen Brots appeared to have scored a game-winning golden goal on a corner kick, but it was called off by the officials.
The two teams lined up at midfield for penalty kicks to determine who would advance to the semifinal round. The Flashes converted on all four of their kicks from seniors Donavan Capehart, Kristen Brots and Hayden Pascoe, with freshman Maddie Holmes connecting on the deciding fourth penalty kick.
"It was scary feeling at first and I just went up there with the mentality to just put the ball in the net, just like any other soccer game," said Holmes. "It was a great feeling, we knew he had it, and we had to finish it off."
"We practice penalty kicks every day and have been ending the last month of practice with penalty kicks," added Marinaro. "Our takers were fantastic on the day and we asked Ashleah McDonald to make a big save and she came through."
Kent State's goalkeeper Ashleah McDonald (8-3-2) made three saves and allowed one goal. The Bobcats' Erin Beurket (0-7-2) made seven saves while allowed one goal and made many key plays that don't show up on the box score.
Overall Kent State led in shots (21-9), shots on goal (8-4) and corner kicks (6-3).
This is the second time that Kent State beat Ohio this week, as the final regular season match ended with a 2-1 final on Thursday afternoon.
"Give credit the Bobcats and their coaching staff for coming out and really battling today," commented Marinaro. "Since we just played them we couldn't really throw anything new at them so it was a tough matchup."
This is the first time that Kent State has advanced on penalty kicks since the 2005 MAC Tournament when it got past Ball State. The team later fell in the championship on penalty kicks to Bowling Green.
The Golden Flashes will take on #4 Bowling Green in the MAC Tournament semifinals on Friday, Nov. 3rd at 7 p.m. Dix Stadium will play host to the MAC Tournament semifinals and championship for the second season in a row. All tournament information will be announced on kentstatesports.com.
Kent State will try to repeat as MAC Tournament Champions after winning the first tournament championship in program history last season.
Be sure to follow Kent State Soccer onย Twitter,ย Instagramย andย Facebookย for news and in-match updates about the squad.
Team Stats
KATS, Vital (5)
Assisted By: SHEDENHELM, Cameron
From 15 yards out from goal, dead center
64:11
ARNZEN, Mandy (2)
Assisted By: KATTAINEN, Sara
Off corner from within 5 yards
69:06
