Soccer Opens MAC Tournament with 3-0 Shutout Over NIU

Sunday, October 29

Kent, Ohio

1:00 p.m.

Kent State University

11-6-2, 7-4-0

Northern Illinois

8-8-3, 6-4-1

NIU

Kent St.

Photo by: David A. Cleveland

Soccer Opens MAC Tournament with 3-0 Shutout Over NIU

10/29/2023 4:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

KENT, Ohio – The Kent State women's soccer team opened the 2023 MAC Championship with a resounding 3-0 win in the quarterfinal round over Northern Illinois on Sunday at Zoeller Field at Dix Stadium.

The Golden Flashes came out of the gates aggressive and made the Northern Illinois keeper work early, but the game was still scoreless through the first 15 minutes. It looked like the Huskies would get on the board first when Sahara Zingano sent a shot on goal that Sarah Melén dove for but could not reach. The ball rebounded off the crossbar and fell to the feet of Trya King who capitalized on the empty net, but the would-be goal was called back when the offside flag was raised.

Kent State capitalized on the shift in momentum. In the 36th minute, Alisa Arthur drew a foul on the far side of the field just outside the 18-yard box. Arthur and Siena Stambolich stood over the ball on the free kick. Arthur took a shot off the set piece, arcing the ball over the wall of NIU defenders and tucking it inside the far post for her team-leading ninth goal of the season.

Just seconds later, the Flashes doubled their lead. Arthur controlled the ball on the near side down by the goal line and waited for her teammates to push up the field. The junior found Stambolich with tons of room around her, who fired a right-footer from outside the box that curled towards the far post and across the line.

The Flashes went into halftime with a 2-0 lead and never slowed down. Though the Huskies created a number of scoring chances for themselves, the Flashes defense played one of their strongest games of the year to keep the Huskies out of the net. NIU's best offensive look came in the 65th minute, but Melén made a pair of spectacular saves to preserve the clean sheet.

Tori Copfer secured the Flashes' win with a goal in the 85th minute. Arthur sent a high-flying ball into the box which bounced to the head of Dalaney Ranallo. Ranallo passed it to Copfer, who put a header over the NIU keeper and inside the near post for the first goal of her collegiate career.

While the Flashes trailed in shots (14-13) and corner kick opportunities (6-5) in the box score, they held a commanding lead in shots on goal (9-5) due to the strong performance by the Kent State back line. Arthur paced the offense with four shots, all of which were on goal, and her four points are the most by any Golden Flash in a single game this season.

Melén ended the game with five saves en route to her fourth shutout of the season.

NEXT UP

Kent State will face top-seeded Western Michigan in the MAC Tournament Semifinal match on Thursday, Nov. 2. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+. The last time the two squads faced off, the Broncos came out on top, beating the Flashes 2-0 at Zoeller Field at Dix Stadium.

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