Soccer Can't Get Past No. 15 West Virginia, Loses 2-1

Sunday, September 19

Morgantown, W.Va.

1:00 p.m.

Kent State University

4-3-0, 0-0-0

West Virginia

6-2-1, 0-0-0

Kent St.

West Virginia

Photo by: Gabby Kingston

Soccer Can't Get Past No. 15 West Virginia, Loses 2-1

9/19/2021 3:37:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

(MORGANTOWN, West Virginia) - The Kent State women's soccer team was defeated by No. 15 West Virginia Sunday, 2-1 in a tight contest. This puts Kent State at 4-3 on the season.

For Kent State, this was a game in which West Virginia was supposed to be the clear-cut favorite. The Mountaineers entered the game ranked 15th in the nation, having won five of their seven contests, including a 4-0 victory over MAC leader Buffalo. But the Golden Flashes refused to go down easily in this one, giving West Virginia a run for their money and playing hard for all 90 minutes.

West Virginia scored first in the 29th minute, when senior defender Jordan Brewster connected successfully on a penalty kick attempt, giving the Mountaineers the early advantage. They then doubled that lead to 2-0 on a goal in the 61st minute by redshirt senior forward Lauren Segalla, assisted by Dilary Heredia-Beltran.

However, Kent State cut that lead in half with less than a minute to play, as redshirt senior forward Cameron Shedenhelm put one in the back of the net on a penalty kick attempt of her own, picking up her fourth goal this season.

With such little time remaining in the game though, the Flashes were unable to tie the score up before time expired, and West Virginia came out on top, 2-1.

West Virginia was able to get off over three times as many shots as the Flashes in this one (19-6), along with taking 10 more corner kicks than Kent State (11-1). Additionally, the Flashes were unable to avoid cards, as three KSU players were given yellow cards, while the Mountaineers did not receive any.

But these things are to be somewhat expected when facing off with a talented team from the Big 12 like West Virginia. Despite the differences in rankings and statistics between the two teams, Kent State held its own and only lost by one goal, proving that they belonged on the same field as the Mountaineers and not shying away from the challenge. The result of this game may show up in the box score as a loss for Kent State, but as the Flashes head into MAC play starting this Thursday at home against Akron at 7 PM, the resolve and determination shown by head coach Rob Marinaro's team against West Virginia on Sunday is very encouraging.