Kent State University
Pitt
Flashes Begin Road Swing at Pitt and Cleveland State
8/23/2018 11:53:00โฏAM | Women's Soccer
Match #3
at Pitt | Friday, Aug. 24 | 5 p.m.
Live Stats | Video
Match #4
at Cleveland State | Sunday, Aug. 26 | 1 p.m.
Live Stats
Kent State (1-1-0) begins its four-match road trip with a pair of games this weekend against regional opponents. The Golden Flashes travel to the Steel City to take on Pitt (2-0-0) on Friday, Aug. 24 at 5 p.m. and finish the weekend at Cleveland State (2-0-0) on Sunday, Aug. 26 at 1 p.m.
Last Time Out
The Flashes opened their regular season at home last weekend with a pair of matches against Butler and St. Bonaventure. Kent State fell on Thursday to Butler, who was receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, 3-1. Isabelle Mihail scored the lone tally on an assist from Maddie Holmes in the 13th minute to tie the match, but the Bulldogs pulled away with two unanswered goals.
Kent State won its first match of the campaign on Sunday, downing the Bonnies, 2-1. Senior Cassandra Sauter scored the first goal of her career just under two minutes into the match on a free ball off a deflection in the box. St. Bonaventure scored in the 58th minute to tie the match and allowed freshman Autumn Meisenburg to score the game-winning goal in the 87th minute from 20 yards out. The Flashes peppered the Bonnies defense with a 25-6 shot advantage and registered 14 corner kicks, the most in program history. Kent State has now won six of the past seven against the Bonnies.
Kent State Picked to win MAC Regular Season and Tournament
The Golden Flashes were selected to win the MAC regular season and tournament championship in the preseason coaches' poll. Kent State has been selected to win a regular season championship in three consecutive years after they were named to win the MAC East Division in 2016 and 2017.ย
Scouting Pitt
The Panthers opened the season at home with back-to-back wins against Ohio and Morehead State, two teams the Flashes will see this season. Ashley Moreira scored the game-winning in the 52nd minute to down Ohio, 2-1. It took late heroics by Anna Rico as she scored the game-winning goal in double-overtime, as the Panthers squeaked by Morehead State, 1-0. Pitt was tabbed to finish 14th in the Atlantic Coast Conference and are led by first-year head coach Randy Waldrum.
Scouting Cleveland State
The Vikings won two matches in the first weekend of action, defeating Howard and Chicago State. It took overtime for the Vikings to defeat the Bison, 2-1, as Sarah Krause found the back of the net. Cleveland State finished the weekend cruising past Chicago State, 3-1. Five different players scored goals for the Vikings last weekend in the balanced scoring attack. Goalkeeper Stevie Holbrook earned Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week honors and allowed just one goal on the weekend, while making four saves. Cleveland State was picked to finish fifth in the Horizon League preseason coaches' poll. Dallas Boyer is in his second year leading the program.
Series History
Pitt leads the all-time series 2-4-1, however Kent State has won the last two matches. Last season, in a wet and rainy evening at Dix Stadium, Isabelle Mihail scored the game-winner in the 89th minute to secure a win for the Flashes. This drama filled series didn't disappoint in 2016 either, as Karli Paracca scored in double-overtime in the 102nd minute to defeat the Panthers, 2-1. This is the third consecutive season the teams will meet and Kent State is 3-7-2 against teams from the ACC.
Kent State and Cleveland State are no strangers to each other, as the two Northeast Ohio schools have squared off 11 times with the Golden Flashes holding an 8-2-1 advantage. The Vikings handed the Flashes a 2-1 loss last year at Dix Stadium. The Golden Flashes have won five of the last six meetings, and outscored the Vikings, 10-4.
Up Next
The Golden Flashes travel to North Carolina for the UNC-Wilmington Tournament next weekend from Aug. 31st through Sept. 2nd. Kent State will battle the host Seahawks on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and round out the weekend with a neutral site match on Sunday at 11 a.m. against Fairleigh Dickinson.
Follow the Flashes
Friday's match at Pitt can be watched for free on ACC Network Extra.
Be sure to follow Kent State Soccer onย Twitter,ย Instagramย andย Facebookย for news and in-match updates about the squad.
