Kent State University
Liberty
Flashes Host Flames in Inaugural Season Finale
4/23/2019 2:46:00โฏPM | Women's Lacrosse
KENT, Ohio โ The Kent State lacrosse team (2-14) looks to close its inaugural season with a win against ASUN conference foe Liberty (11-4) on Wednesday, April 24 at Dix Stadium at 3 p.m.
"I look forward to the team putting all of the pieces together for one last time this season," said Head Coach Brianne Tierney. "I hope we can draw confidence from all the little things we achieved this season and continue to improve. This is the last opportunity to play together as the first Kent State lacrosse team in program history."
Golden Flashes Leaders
Abby Jones leads Kent State on offense with 47 points (30g, 17a), ranking ninth in the ASUN. The Coon Rapids, Minn., product leads the Flashes in draw controls (49) and caused turnovers (15), while ranking second in goals (30) and third in ground balls (27). Lluna Katz leads Kent State in goals with 31, including 14 in five ASUN conference games.
Madison Rapier, Meghan Cawood and Eva Nikolai form a stable trio in the midfield for the Flashes. In just 12 games, Rapier has totaled 37 draw controls, 10 caused turnovers and 10 points. Cawood and Nikolai rank third and fourth on the team in draw controls with 34 and 32, respectively.
The defense is a balanced unit led by team captain Hailey Andry, who is tied for the team lead in caused turnovers (15). Alyssa Monroe is second on the team with 28 ground balls and is tied for fourth on the team with 14 caused turnovers.
Grace Merrill stands in goal for the Flashes and currently leads the ASUN and ranks 13th in the country with 152 saves. Her 9.50 saves per game average ranks first in the ASUN and just outside the top-20 in the nation.
Flash Firsts
The Golden Flashes have tallied many firsts this season, including their first win in program history against Delaware State (21-6) on March 29 and their first ASUN conference win against Howard (17-1) on April 14.
Abby Jones recorded the first goal in program history against Cincinnati in the season opener, while Kelli Bailey posted the first assist for the Flashes in the same game. The first Flashes' lacrosse goal in Dix Stadium history was scored by Lluna Katz against Robert Morris.
Tierney achieved the first Division-I win of her career against the Hornets.
Scouting Liberty
The Flames are led on offense by Carly White (32g, 22a) who ranks seventh in the ASUN in points. Liberty has five other players with at least 19 goals on the season, including Jenna Joyal (28g, 8a), Brianna McCaffrey (26g), Anna Keebler (24g, 3a), Kayla Foster (22g, 18a) and Hannah Quast (19g, 1a).
White leads the ASUN with 56 ground balls and ranks third with 63 draw controls. The Flames' defense is dominant in the ASUN with four players in the top-six in caused turnovers, led by McCaffrey with a league-high 48.
Katherine Widrick posts up in goal for the Flames. She has started all 15 games this season and has posted 120 saves. Her 46.5 save percentage ranks second in the ASUN and her 9.31 goals against ranks 13th in the nation.
Follow the Flashes
Be sure to follow the Kent State lacrosse team on Twitter and Instagram for news and updates about the team throughout the season.
