Kent State University
Toledo
Flashes Soccer Opens Up MAC Play At Toledo
9/16/2026 4:34:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Toledo, Ohio- The Kent State Soccer team will play their first Mid-American Conference game of the season on the road on Thursday night as they travel to Toledo for a 7 P.M. start.
Last Time Out
The Kent State Soccer team dropped their final non-conference matchup of the season on Friday night after a visit to the John Walker Soccer Complex at Texas Tech University in front of a record crowd in Lubbock.Â
The Red Raiders started the game by taking an early lead, scoring three goals in the first 15 minutes. That included two goals in a seven-minute span from Kaitlyn Giametta of the home team. However, the Flashes defense played impressively for the remaining 75 minutes of the game as the game ended in a 3-0 final score in favor of Texas Tech.
KSU finished the game with three shots, with two of them being on target. Texas Tech shot the ball 17 times, but finished with just six shots on goal. The Flashes were unable to earn any corner kicks, while the Red Raiders recorded five.
Senior Leah Shaffer once again played all 90 minutes in goal for the second game this season. She was able to contribute three saves on 17 shots faced in a game where the defense played better as the game progressed.
Scouting Toledo
The Rockets are off to a strong start to the 2026 campaign as they enter the start of conference play. They have started the season with a 4-2-1 record and they have already matched their win total from a year ago.Â
The lone regular season common-opponent between the two schools this season has been Duquesne of the Atlantic 10. The Flashes fell on the road to the Dukes by one goal as the Rockets were able to go to Pittsburgh and defeat Duquesne by a score of 1-0.
Toledo comes in with one of the most dangerous offensive threats in the country so far this season in Ella Zoerhoff. She is currently fifth in the country and first in the MAC in goals with eight.Â
She also leads the conference in shots with 38, which is 15 shots above the next player. McKenna Shultz and Sadie Walsh have also contributed three and two goals respectively for the Rockets.Â
Starting in net for Toledo will be Paige Dornheggen, who has started in all seven games this season so far. On 88 shots faced, she has allowed eight goals while producing 22 saves and three shutouts.Â
Series History
Thursday's meeting will be the 32nd all-time meeting between the Rockets and the Golden Flashes with Kent State currently holding the all-time series lead with a record of 19-9-3. The Flashes have won the last three meetings including last year's 1-0 win in Kent. KSU has not lost to Toledo since 2015.
Up Next
After a trip west to Toledo, the Flashes will return back to Kent for their MAC home-opener on Sunday at 1 P.M. where they will take on the Miami Redhawks in a battle of two teams who were in the conference tournament in Columbus a year ago.
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