Kent State University
#8 Ohio University
Top Seed Golden Flashes Open MAC Tournament Play with Ohio
10/28/2017 2:03:00 PM | Women's Soccer
KENT, Ohio- The Kent State Golden Flashes step into Mid-American Conference tournament play with the top seed (13-5-1, 9-2-0 MAC). They will face the Bobcats of Ohio (7-10-2, 4-5-2 MAC) in a quarterfinal matchup at Dix Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m.
Last Time Out
Kent State got a sneak peak of the Bobcats in the final regular season game on Thursday winning 2-1 and clinching the MAC Regular Season Championship for the first time since 2004. The Flashes put the first goal on the board in the 24th minute led from Kristen Brots, her third goal of the season, from 10 yards out and assisted by Donavan Capehart and Hayden Pascoe.
Kent State then attacked in the middle of the second period with a big time insurance goal from freshman Maddie Holmes on a header from a free kick by junior Paige Culver. For Holmes, it was her first career goal with Culver tallying her third assist of the year.
Ohio battled late scoring a goal in the 82nd minute from Courtney Daugerdas to break up the shutout and the Flashes stayed tight the remainder of the game to seal the victory.
Season Notes
Kent State ranks first in the MAC in Goals against average (0.68) as well as shutouts with 11. They also rank nationally in the Top-25 in save percentage.
The Flashes have scored a goal in seven straight games coming into tournament play with their last scoreless appearance coming on Oct. 1 against Ball State. They also had a stretch in October winning five straight games all by a matter of a shutout.
Kent State recorded their seventh straight consecutive 10-win season which is the longest such streak in program history.
The Flashes finished the season fifth in the MAC in goals (24) and second in assists (29) behind only Bowling Green in that category.
Two Flashes won awards the first week of October, with sophomore Sierra Henderson-Muschett garnering conference Defensive Player of the Week recognition and junior Ashleah McDonald earning MAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors.
Freshman Vital Kats finished the season leading the team in points (14), shots (45) and goals (5). Senior Kristen Brots led the team in assists with five.
Between the posts for the Flashes, junior goalkeeper Ashleah McDonald led the way finishing the year 9-3-1. McDonald finished second in the conference in shutouts (6), goals against average (0.65) and save percentage (.857).
Senior goalkeeper Katie Kingsbury (0.71 gaa) finished with a 4-2-0 record. Kingsbury was strong in October tallying three straight shutout performances against Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Toledo.
Freshman (Vital Kats, Isabelle Mihail, Cameron Shedenhelm, Rachel Ernst) have combined for 14 of the Flashes 24 total goals this season.
Freshman Karly Hellstrom tallied two assists against St. Bonaventure and it is the first freshman to record a multi-assist match since her sister, All-American Jenna Hellstrom who tallied a program record four assists against Eastern Michigan in 2013.
For Kent State this will be appearance number 14 in the MAC Tournament since the program surfaced in 1998. The Flashes look to defend their title from last season as were MAC Tournament champions advancing to the NCAA Tournament (Evanston, Ill.) for the first time in program history.
Scouting Ohio
The Bobcats finished the regular season at fourth in the MAC East Division and are seeded eighth in the MAC Tournament. Ohio fell in their final two games last week losing 2-1 to both Toledo and Kent State.
Allie Curry leads the Bobcats in points with 16 tallying seven goals and two assists on the season while Sydney Leckie leads the team in assists with six.
Ohio is led in goal by Sydney Malham (0.84 gaa) with a 5-2-0 record. Opponents are outscoring the Bobcats 23-22.
Aaron Rodgers is in his fifth year at the helms for Ohio with a record of 28-52-8. This is his second MAC Tournament appearance since taking over the team in 2012.
Series History
Kent State has a record of 19-12-0 all time against Ohio winning in the last eight meetings between the two teams. Ohio's last victory came on Oct. 23, 2009. Kent State outscored Ohio 17-7 over the last eight meetings.
The last meeting in the MAC Tournament between these two teams was in 2003, where the Bobcats were victorious 1-0 over the Flashes.
Up Next
With a victory, Kent State will advance to the MAC Tournament semifinal on Friday, Nov 3 at 4 p.m.
MAC Tournament Outlook
With a win over Ohio, Kent State would advance to play the winner of four-seeded Bowling Green and five seeded Buffalo. Kent would once again host this game at Dix Stadium since they are the highest seed in the tournament.
Dix Stadium Information
All Kent State Soccer matches are open seating for fans in the three bleacher grandstands. Access to the Dix Stadium press box and loge is reserved for those with proper credentials.
Parking is available in the main Dix Stadium parking lot in front of the main entrance or by the field house free of charge. Parking on the ring road around Dix Stadium is strictly prohibited. Handicap accessibility is available under cover on the northeast side, by the end zone closet to the field house.
Follow the Flashes
All Kent State home matches will be video streamed on kentstatesports.com
Be sure to follow Kent State Soccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for news and in-match updates about the team.
