Its Deja Vu For Kent State As Golden Flashes Defeat Central Michigan 2-1 In OT
10/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Carla Johl makes it a senior weekend to remember with second game winner in as many days
KENT, Ohio — For the second time in as many days senior Carla Johl (Hamilton, New Zealand) was in the right place at the right time when the Golden Flashes needed her most. From the exact same spot on the field where she scored the gamewinner in overtime yesterday, Johl scored another overtime gamewinner as Kent State (5-5 MAC; 7-12) defeated Central Michigan (5-4 MAC; 8-9) 2-1 at Murphy-Mellis Field.
The win not only provided a memorable finish to the Golden Flashes 2011 Senior Day celebration, it kept the team's hopes alive for earning the No. 2 seed and a first round bye in next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament.
"We wanted this win pretty bad," said Johl. "We're still fighting for second place in the MAC and we went out there with a lot of fight and got it done."
Johl's game winner on Saturday came in the 72nd minute after the Golden Flashes won the toss and took the pass back in overtime. Kent State patiently moved the ball through the Central Michigan defense before drawing its 14th penalty corner of the game. Fellow senior Debbie Bell (Hamilton, New Zealand) would then set up the game winner by dragging a pass over to Johl who was waiting just inside the right post.
"It was a tribute to our entire penalty corner unit," said Johl. "Everyone did their part with the play and then Debbie put a great ball into to me so all I had to do was put on the finishing touches."
"You can't really explain the feeling. To come out here on what might be our last home game on this field and be able to put in the winning goal. There is nothing quite like it. It was a fantastic way to end it."
Needing only a win to secure the No. 2 seed, Central Michigan started things off looking to spoil the Senior Day festivities for Kent State. The Chippewas took a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute when Erin Dye scored from directly in front of the cage after KSU freshman goalie Jahna Jordan (Fallbrook, Calif.) deflected a baseline pass from Paulina Lee.
The Golden Flashes would continue to dominate the pace of play attempting 15 first half shots to only a pair for the Chippewas. Kent State finally capitalized on the opportunities in the 27th minute when freshman Julia Hofmann's (Bad Muenster, Germany) lobbed a shot over the goalies head from five yards out in the center of the circle. The goal was the second in as many days for Hofmann and her fifth of the year.
The second half was more of the same with Kent State owning a 10-3 shot advantage and a 5-2 penalty corner edge. Despite the aggressive attack the score remained deadlocked at 1-1 and the Golden Flashes headed into their second consecutive overtime game for the first time since 2007 when the program won at Missouri State and again at Saint Louis Sept. 29-30. Kent State is 4-3 in overtime this season.
"We came out firing on all cylinders and just looking at the shots (26-5 in favor of Kent State) you can see we had a lot of opportunities," said Head Coach Kathleen Wiler. "We are really proud of these girls and this will certainly give us confidence heading into the tournament next week. We need to win for a shot at being the No. 2 seed and after getting a taste of victory yesterday they weren't going to be denied today."
The final seeding for the 2011 MAC Tournament will be determined tomorrow when Central Michigan travels to Ohio and Ball State plays at Missouri State. The tournament takes place Nov. 3-4-5 at Ohio.
