Kent State University
Miami
Soccer Takes on Miami and Ball State in Weekend of MAC Games
10/12/2021 10:22:00 AM | Women's Soccer
(KENT, Ohio) - The Kent State women's soccer team prepares for a weekend of MAC play, first on the road at Miami on Thursday at 4 PM, before taking on Ball State at home on Sunday at 1 PM.
About the Flashes
Kent State heads into the Miami game with a record of 8-4-1, including a 4-1-1 record within the MAC, tied for second place in the conference. They follow a week in which they went 2-0, defeating conference foes Northern Illinois and Western Michigan to move up in the MAC standings. The NIU game was a solid victory for the Flashes, with Kent State shutting out the Huskies at home, 2-0, behind goals from senior defender Tianna Harris and redshirt senior forward Cameron Shedenhelm.
Shedenhelm's efforts would also prove instrumental in the following game, this time on the road at Western Michigan. That contest was a more highly-contested game, as the Flashes and Broncos went back and forth for 90 minutes with no side being able to take the lead when time left in regulation expired. But in overtime, sophomore forward Callie Cunningham knocked through the game-winner for Kent State, with assists coming from both Shedenhelm and redshirt senior defender Karly Hellstrom. Hellstrom had a great weekend in the assists category, picking up four in the two games, including three in the WMU game (the seventh player to do so in program history).
The aforementioned Cameron Shedenhelm had a strong outing over the weekend as well, grabbing two goals and an assist for a total of five points. Shedenhelm now has seven goals in 13 games, good enough for third place in the MAC. Her 18 total points over those 13 games is good enough for second place in the MAC. Additionally, Karly Hellstrom leads the MAC with eight assists in 13 games, which translates to .615 assists per game.
Scouting the RedHawks
Miami comes into the weekend with a 7-4-3 record overall (4-2 in MAC). In their most recent performances this past week, they defeated Toledo, 3-1, before losing to Bowling Green, also 3-1. In that Toledo game, two of the team's leading scorers, senior forward Kristina DeMarco and freshman forward Kylee Beinecke, each got goals. DeMarco and Beinecke, along with sophomore midfield/forward Julia Hoffmann, all have four goals apiece this season. The highest point total for an individual player on the team is 11, and that belongs to sophomore forward Haley Anspach, who was the third person to get a goal in the Toledo game.
As far as goalkeeping is concerned, senior Izzie Vaccari has handled those duties for all 14 of Miami's games thus far. She's allowed 14 goals in that time and made 39 saves, good enough for a .736 save percentage. She also has six shutouts, which is tied for first in the MAC among goalkeepers.
Miami would seem to be a defensively-minded team, as they have those six shutouts this season, along with seven other games in which they've limited their opponent to two goals or less (the 3-1 loss to Bowling Green their last time out is the only exception). They also lack a single definitive offensive power, instead possessing several capable scorers but not having the likes of a Cameron Shedenhelm on the roster. So Kent State head coach Rob Marinaro and his staff will work to scheme and strategize against that.
In their last time playing each other, in the altered 2020-21 season, Miami defeated Kent State, 4-2.
Scouting the Cardinals
Ball State enters play for the weekend at 4-7-1 on the season and 2-3-1 in MAC play. The Cardinals are coming off of back-to-back losses against Bowling Green and Toledo, scoring only one goal over the two games. The leading scorer for the Cardinals is senior midfielder Chelcy Ralph, who has four goals and eight points (which is also a team high). But other than Ralph, no one on the Ball State roster holds more than two goals and five points thus far this season.
Senior goalkeeper Alex DeRuvo has 40 saves and 21 goals allowed through 12 games, giving her a .656 save percentage. However, she's only produced one shutout this year, which came in a 0-0 tie vs. Eastern Michigan September 23.
The last time Kent State faced off with Ball State in 2019, the Cardinals topped the Flashes, 3-2.
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