Kent State Blanks Zips in Ninth Straight Series Win

Sunday, October 13

Kent, Ohio

1:00 P.M.

Kent State University

5-6-2, 3-2-1MAC

Akron

5-8-1, 2-3-1MAC

Team	1	2	Final F
Akron	0	0	0
Kent State	1	1	2

Photo by: Sara Donato

Kent State Blanks Zips in Ninth Straight Series Win

10/13/2019 3:29:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

KENT, Ohio – The Kent State women's soccer team (5-6-2, 3-2-1 MAC) continued its reign of dominance in the Crystal Clinic Wagon Wheel Challenge against rival Akron (5-8-1, 2-3-1 MAC), with a 2-0 victory at Dix Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Golden Flashes have won nine straight in the series with seven shutouts and have outscored the Zips 18-1 during the stretch.

"I think we did a really nice job, we worked really hard and got one early which I think changed the entire game," said Kent State head coach Rob Marinaro. "They had to chase a little bit more, so we settled in and played really well defensively. Obviously getting a shutout speaks to the entire team performance, and we took two opportunities and scored."

Redshirt sophomore Karly Hellstrom netted her fifth goal of season just three minutes into the match. She took a shot from five yards in front of the net, collected a rebound off a block and put it into the back of the net.

Junior Vital Kats gave the home squad a comfortable margin in the 67th minute with her fifth goal of the year. She connected on a free kick and registered a point in her seventh consecutive match.

The defense recorded its fifth clean sheet of the season and redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Faith O'Neill picked up her Mid-American Conference leading fifth shutout of the year. O'Neill (5-6-2) made four saves and registered two in each period. Akron's Libby Harper (4-6-1) made six stops.

Kent State led in shots (13-12) and shots on goal (8-4), and both teams were even in corner kicks (2-2). It was a physical match as both teams combined for 35 fouls and the Zips were assessed three yellow cards.

The Golden Flashes close out their three-match homestand next week when they host Eastern Michigan on Friday, October 18th, at 7 p.m. The weekend concludes on Sunday, October 20th, at 1 p.m. against Central Michigan.

Be sure to follow Kent State Soccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for news and in-match updates about the squad.