Kent State University
Old Dominion University
Field Hockey Begins 2018 Campaign on the Road Against Old Dominion and Michigan State
8/23/2018 4:50:00 PM | Field Hockey
Match #1
at Old Dominion | Saturday, Aug. 25 | 1 p.m. | at East Lansing, Michigan
Live stats: www.sidearmstats.com/michstate/fhockey
Match #2
At Michigan State | Sunday, Aug. 26 | 1 p.m.
Live stats: www.sidearmstats.com/michstate/fhockey
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State University field hockey team opens its 2018 regular season campaign on the road with matches against Old Dominion and Michigan State in East Lansing, Michigan. The Flashes will face Old Dominion on Saturday, Aug. 25 at 1 p.m. and wrap up the first weekend of play against the Spartans on Sunday, Aug. 26 at 1 p.m.
About the Flashes
Kent State is coming into the 2018 season looking to build on the five MAC regular season titles and three MAC Tournament titles the program has compiled in the past 6 years. The Golden Flashes finished last season 9-10 and 5-1 in conference play, ending the season with a 2-1 loss in the MAC tournament championship. The team returns All-MAC Second Team selections Clara Rodriguez Setó and Berta Jover Llorens, as well as a senior class of Aileen Ahlers, Jessica Apelt, Helen Harper, and Courtney Weise, adding senior transfer Pippa Best.
Head Coach Kathleen Wiler enters her 13thseason in 2018 and is the most successful coach in program history with a 133-118 record. She has guided four players to All-America status and has seen her teams continually break academic records. In 2017, a program record 20 Flashes earned NFHCA Academic honors.
Kent State was selected by the conference head coaches to finish second in the MAC regular season in the annual preseason poll released earlier this week.
Old Dominion
Old Dominion is coming into the 2018 season predicted to finish third in the Big East in the coaches' poll released last week. Juniors Rebecca Birch and Erin Huffman were named to the Preseason All-Big East Team. Huffman was a First Team All-Big East and Second Team All-NFHCA South Region selection a season ago. In 2017, the Monarchs put together an 8-10 season, reaching the Big East Tournament as the No. 3 seed.
Kent State has faced Old Dominion only twice in program history. Both matchups played on the road, the Flashes fell to the Monarchs 6-2 in September 2002 and 6-0 in September 2015.
Michigan State
The Spartans are coming off an 8-11 campaign in 2017, in which they reached the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals. Entering this season, Michigan State has had three players named to the 2018 Big Ten Field Hockey Preseason Players to Watch list, senior Madison O'Neill and sophomores Cara Bonshak and Lia Sinisi.
The last time the Golden Flashes squared off against MSU was Aug. 26, 2016 at Murphy-Mellis field. The Flashes defeated the Spartans 3-1.
