Kent State University
Saint Francis University
Field Hockey Begins 2019 Campaign This Weekend
8/29/2019 2:00:00 PM | Field Hockey
KENT, Ohio- The 2019 season will begin for Kent State field hockey this weekend with a two-game homestand. The Flashes will face St. Francis on Friday at 1 p.m. and Michigan State on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Murphy-Mellis Field.
The Flashes finished 8-12 overall and 5-1 in conference play before falling to Miami in the MAC Tournament Champion Match. Head coach Kyle DeSandes-Moyer, in her first season with the Flashes, will return two leading scorers, Clara Rodriguez Seto, and Emma Bressler, who finished the season with 20 and 17 points. Also returning is senior goalkeeper Mary Crumlish, who started all 20 games and posted a 2.14 GAA.
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.
The Matchups
St. Francis
The Red Flash finished last season at 9-10 and were picked to finish seventh in the A10 preseason poll. St. Francis returns a starting lineup of veteran leaders that includes senior captains Livvy Webb and Taylin Lehman and junior captain Kellie Drugotch. The fifth-year senior goalkeeper Claudia Marzec, who appeared in eight games last season recording a 1-2 record with 27 saves will start in goal. The Red Flash field hockey team showed that it is ready to battle this season after defeating the Division II field hockey national champions, Shippensburg, in an exhibition at DeGol Field earlier this week.
This will be the sixth matchup between the two teams and the fourth on home turf as Kent State holds a 3-2 series advantage. Last season, St. Francis defeated the Flashes, 2-1.
Michigan State
The Spartans look to improve this season as they finished the 2018 campaign at 5-15 overall and winless in the Big Ten. Michigan State returns all but three starters and will look to sophomore goalkeeper Jade Arundell, who started every game last year to anchor the defense. Also returning is Sophomore Isa Van der Weij led the Spartans last season with goals, assists, and total points. The Spartans are coming off an exhibition win after defeating nationally-ranked Michigan, 2-1.
Michigan State holds a 23-8 series advantage over Kent State. The two teams met last season in East Lansing as the Flashes fell 3-2 in overtime.
