Kent State Falls To 20th-Ranked Ohio State
9/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Bell and Miller each tally goals off assists from Leach
KENT, Ohio - Kent State stayed step for step with 20th-ranked Ohio State through the first 35 minutes of play Wednesday at Murphy-Mellis Field, but the Golden Flashes (3-5) were unable to contain the Buckeyes (3-3) in the second half falling by a final score of 5-2.
“We did enough to win today,” said Kent State Head Coach Kathleen Schanne. “The difference comes down to us not consistently taking advantage of our chances.”
The game was a defensive battle through much of the first half as neither team took a shot in the first 15 minutes of play. Kent State finally struck first in the 27th minute when sophomore Debbie Bell (Hamilton, New Zealand/Waikato) took a cross pass from junior Nicole Leach (San Diego, Calif. / Mira Mesa) into the circle. Bell then fired home her team leading eighth goal of the season from 10 yards out on the left side.
The KSU lead would be short-lived however as Berta Queralt tallied two quick goals in the final five minutes of the half to put Ohio State on top 2-1 at the break. First, Queralt scored off a rebound on the left side from 12-yards out. Less than four minutes later she took a pass at midfield and raced down the field on a breakaway goal in which she beat the keeper on the right side.
The Buckeyes continued to attack in the second half. Maria Birones put it in the net from four yards out just over a minute into the half. Jena Cacciatore added her first of her two goals eight minutes later scoring from two yards away to put OSU up 4-1.
Junior Rachel Miller (Bathurst, Australia/MacKillop College) helped the Flashes cut into Ohio State's advantage six minutes later when she took advantage of precision passing by senior Allison Kittelberger (Webster, N.Y. / Schroeder) and Leach. Named the MAC offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, Miller cashed in on the penalty corner opportunity from the middle of the circle.
Unfortunately for KSU, that's as close as it got as Cacciatore posted her team-high seventh goal of the season and matched Queralt as the game's leading scorer six minutes later from six yards back to make the score final.
KSU Red-shirt freshman goalie Kirstin Willders (Lititz, Pa. / Warwick) made five saves as the Golden Flashes were outshot 13-8. Kent State had eight penalty corners to OSU's four. The loss ended a 14 game winning streak by the Golden Flashes when they scored the first goal of the game.
Kent State embarks on the beginning of the Mid-American Conference portion of its schedule next week as it travels to Missouri State Sept. 25 for a 4 p.m. CST (5 p.m. EST) match-up.
Kent State Field Hockey signs Team Impact Athlete Arianna! ⚡️🏑 #kentstate #teamimpact #goflashes
Monday, October 06
Lauren Conroy puts it to the back of the net! ⚡️🏑 #kentstate #fieldhockey #collegesports #goflashes
Thursday, September 04
Emma Seger with a big deflection for the goal! ⚡️🏑🦅 #kentstate #fieldhockey #collegesports
Thursday, September 04
Maybritt Duwel gets a clean shot off the bounce for her second goal of the game! ⚡️🏑 #kentstate
Thursday, September 04
