Kent State University
Ball State
Kent State Prepares for Weekend Home Doubleheader Against Ball State and Penn State
10/8/2026 11:35:00 AM | Field Hockey
KENT, Ohio – Kent State Field Hockey will face the Ball State Cardinals and the Penn State Nittany Lions at home this weekend at Murphy-Mellis Field. The Ball State game is on Friday at 1pm and the Penn State game is on Sunday at noon.
The Ball State game is a Powder Blue out with the first 150 fans getting a free Kent State powder blue knit cap. The Penn State game will honor Morgan's Message. The first 125 fans will be getting a free Morgan's Message t-shirt.
The Ball State matchup will be big for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) standings as both Kent State and Ball State are 1-3 in the league.
Last Time Out
The Golden Flashes lost a highly intense conference home game with Bellarmine last Friday. The matchup went into overtime with Kent State falling 2-3
Eva Usoz got Kent State on the board in the first quarter against Bellarmine with her 6th goal of the season. The lead didn't last long as the Knights tied the game at one apiece at the beginning of the second quarter off a Brooke Buchanan goal. A goal by Dominque Hudson started the second half off as Bellarmine took an eventual 2-1 lead.
Sophia Livingston became the first Golden Flash besides Eva Usoz to score multiple goals in the season after tying the Bellarmine game at two towards the end of the third period. However, Bellarmine scored halfway through the overtime frame to defeat Kent State and even their conference record up at .500.
Ball State Scouting Report
The Cardinals come into Kent State with an overall record of 3-8 on the season. Ball State has lost their previous two games, falling to MAC-foe Appalachian State 0-2 and Davidson 1-3. In the matchup against Davidson, sophomore Munyonga Chidochashe came off the bench to score her first collegiate career goal; she'll be a person to watch out for off the Cardinals' bench. Meanwhile, Lauren Lewis leads the team with three goals on the season and Jade Vandevoorde leads the team with six assists.
Penn State Scouting Report
The Nittany Lions come into Kent State with a 6-4 record on the season and a 1-1 record in the BIG 10. Conversely to Ball State, Penn State has won their last two games, defeating Rutgers 1-0 and beating 20th ranked Lafayette 3-2 in overtime. At the time of this publication, Ella Gaitan has the most goals on the season for Penn State with seven, including scoring the game winner in overtime against Lafayette last week. Olivia Marthins is another prolific scorer with five goals tallied thus far.
Series History
Kent State has had an extensive history against Ball State in the MAC, with the Golden Flashes winning their last matchup in 2025 via a 1-0 shutout. The overall record against Ball State is a dominant 22-1, with Kent State's lone loss coming back in 2011. The history with Penn State has been a bit different with the Golden Flashes losing all seven of the previous matchups with the Nittany Lions up to this point.
Up Next
Kent State will head to Farmville, Va. to face Longwood on Friday, Oct. 16 at 3 pm. KSU will then head back home to Murphy-Mellis Field to face Appalachian State on Sunday, Oct. 18 at noon.
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