Kent State Drops Grueling Overtime Game to App State

Sunday, October 18

Kent, Ohio

12:00 p.m.

Kent State University

(4-11, 3-4)

App State

(8-7, 4-3)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
App State	0	1	0	1	1	3
Kent St.	0	0	1	1	0	2

Maybritt Duwel pointing at her backs, telling them to spread out across the field

Kent State Drops Grueling Overtime Game to App State

10/18/2026 8:22:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

KENT, Ohio – The Kent State Field Hockey team fell 2-3 to the App State Mountaineers in a overtime heartbreaker at home on Sunday afternoon.

The Golden Flashes had a solid crowd of people in the stands decked out in "Everyone Watches Kent State Women's Sports" t-shirts for the game. The spectators saw one of the objectively most entertaining games of the year played at Murphy-Mellis Field with back-and-forth action, electrifying goalie saves, and smooth goals scored by both sides.

The overtime loss brings both Kent State and App State to 11 points on the year and places the Mountaineers as the current no. 5 seed in the MAC Tournament and the Golden Flashes as currently the last team in the tournament. As of Sunday, Oct. 18, UMass, Miami (OH), and James Madison have all clinched spots in the MAC Tournament. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Ball State and Longwood have been the first MAC squads eliminated from postseason contention.

In the middle of the standings, Ohio, App State, Kent State, Central Michigan, and Bellarmine each have postseason hope riding on their results in the final two conference games of the year over the next two weeks. Kent State can clinch a MAC Tournament berth with a win in either their game against Miami next Friday or in their game against Ohio on Oct. 30. Both of the final two MAC games for Kent State will be played on the road. The Golden Flashes can also make the tournament if they drop both of their final two games, but they'll need both Central Michigan and Bellarmine to lose at least one of their final two matchups.

The overtime loss against App State started with amazing defense played on both sides in the first quarter. Both the Mountaineers and the Golden Flashes were held to one shot apiece in the first 15 minutes as the midfielders and backs for both squads created a flurry of turnovers and stops.

The Mountaineers broke the tie halfway through the second quarter when freshman Morgan Hook put the ball in the back of the net for her first collegiate career goal. The goal was assisted by Kassie Paul on a perfect slicing pass from the right corner of the pitch. App State took the 1-0 lead into halftime, despite being outshot 3-6 by the Golden Flashes through the first two quarters.

Kent State had multiple penalty corner opportunities to open the third quarter but were unable to connect against App State goalkeeper Dakota Anderson. The senior from Williamsburg, Va. has over 100 saves on the year and has been one of the most consistent keepers in the MAC this season.

The Golden Flashes were finally able to break through with four minutes left to go in the third quarter as Alexa Knott tallied her first goal of her Kent State career. Knott passed the ball in on the penalty corner which was then shot by Eva Usoz but blocked and deflected back out by the App State defense. Riley Welsch received the deflection and scooped the pass over a Mountaineer defender back out to the awaiting Knott for the spectacular goal. The crowd and Kent State sideline erupted as the game was tied in a playoff-like atmosphere at Murphy-Mellis Field.

Senior midfielder/forward Eva Usoz wasted no time for Kent State in the fourth quarter, increasing the already-building Golden Flashes' momentum with her 9^th goal of the season. Usoz' slapshot was assisted by Maybritt Duwel to give Duwel her third dish of the year.

Kent State took the 2-1 lead all the way up until the 1:43 mark in the fourth quarter when Sophia Baxter scored off a late App State penalty corner to tie the game. Baxter now has five goals on the year and is second on the team with 15 points.

The Mountaineers played exceptional defense in the overtime period, limiting Kent State's ability to get the ball to the midfielders and forwards and holding the Golden Flashes to zero shots attempted in the frame. App State eventually received their third penalty corner of the game with five minutes left to go in overtime and they didn't waste the opportunity. Brynn Shaffer scored her 5^th goal of the year off the penalty corner to win the overtime thriller for App State.

Up Next

The Golden Flashes will take on Miami (OH) on the road on Friday, Oct. 23 at 1pm for a possible MAC Tournament clinching scenario. Then, on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 1pm, Kent State takes on Ohio State for the home season finale on Senior Day.

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