Kent State University
5-8
Akron
2-11
Flashes Beat Zips With Game-Winner From Sklar
4/2/2022 4:00:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
KENT, Ohio - The Kent State lacrosse team took on Akron at Dix Stadium on Saturday, defeating the Zips in thrilling fashion, 10-9. The Golden Flashes won thanks to a game-winning goal by junior Kenzie Sklar with 15 seconds to go in the game, assisted by sophomore Jackie Wolford, propelling Kent State to victory over their nearby rivals.
That last goal served as Sklar's third goal of the game and 27th of the season overall. Sklar is rivaled in scoring on the Flashes only by Wolford, whose four goals scored on Saturday moved her season total to 33, which ranks among the highest in the MAC. Wolford would score the first goal of the game for either side on Saturday, giving Kent State the lead with 13:50 to go in the first quarter off of an assist by senior Abby Jones.
Akron would score three of the next four goals, two of which coming from attacker Noelle Boyd, who scored six times in the meeting between the two teams on February 23 at Akron that resulted in an 11-6 Zips victory. With 14:15 to go in the second quarter on Saturday, Akron led 3-2; this would be the last time that the Zips held the lead in this one though, as Kent State would go out to a lead of as many as four (which occurred when Jones scored with 10:32 to go in the third quarter, assisted by junior Morgan Kubicki, giving the Flashes an 8-4 advantage).
But the Zips would find a way to chip away at the Flashes' lead, scoring three unanswered goals to end the third quarter and at the beginning of the fourth. At the 8:20 mark in the fourth quarter, Sklar picked up her second goal of the day in a woman-up situation, thanks to a yellow card being awarded to Akron's Abby McMullen less than a minute prior. This was one of three cards that the Zips received on the day (two yellow and one green), compared to one yellow card being awarded to the Flashes.
The Sklar goal gave Kent State a two-score advantage once more, but Akron battled and found a way to tie things up at nine-all, with their ninth goal coming with 49 seconds left in regulation. It was at this point that it seemed overtime was a likely scenario, as it would be tough for either side to gain possession of the ball, advance the ball downfield and score in less than a minute.
But that's exactly what the Flashes did, with freshman Sidney Dering getting the pivotal draw control for Kent State and head coach Brianne Tierney promptly calling a timeout to discuss strategy with her team. The Flashes would then attack a Zips defense that had been stingy all day, with Sklar getting the pass from Wolford and depositing the ball in the back of Akron's net to all-but seal the victory for Kent State.
15 seconds later, time ran out, and the Kent State bench and fans erupted. They had defeated their rivals. Hero Kenzie Sklar rang the victory bell to make it official.
The game also marked the first win of 2022 for sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Monturo, who got her first decision of the year filling in for junior Madison Flannigan. This moves the Flashes to a record of 5-8 on the season and marks their second win within the MAC, moving them to fourth place in the conference. It also marks their third win in a row.
With four more games remaining on their schedule, all MAC contests, the Flashes are anxious to continue their winning ways. Next up is a game next Saturday at 12 p.m., when they travel to Robert Morris.
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For more information on the women's lacrosse team, follow Kent State Lacrosse on Twitter and Instagram and visit kentstatesports.com for additional updates.
