The Kent State’s soccer team battled back from a 1-0 deficit in the second half of Sunday’s match to earn a 2-1 victory over crosstown rival Akron.

“The team showed a lot of character in coming back,” coach Rob Marinaro said. “To pull it off the way they did was super exciting.”

Kent State improved to 5-2-2 and is in first place in the Mid-American Conference at 2-0. UA falls to 2-7 overall and sits last in the conference at 0-2.

Both teams’ defenses remained strong in the first half, leading to a 0-0 tie at the intermission. 

In the 63rd minute, Zips sophomore forward Emma King scored to give her team the lead. 

“We changed the formation a little bit just to see if we could create some more attack,” Marinaro said. “Fortunately, we got enough work and turnovers that we got some opportunities ourselves.”

In the 82nd minute, junior midfielder Alisa Arthur stole the ball from an Akron defender and had a one-on-one chance against the keeper. She was able to put it away to score an equalizer for the Flashes. 

Arthur leads the Flashes on the season in goals and points, with three goals and eight points total.

Her 14 shots on goal are tied for the most in the Mid-American Conference so far this season.

As the game reached its end, the Flashes needed someone to step up. 

With only two minutes remaining, sophomore midfielder Kelsey Salopek stole the ball in the midfield, took two dribbles and fired a shot at Akron’s goalkeeper. 

“It’s great to see a goal from her because she truly is one of the hardest-working kids on the team,” Marinaro said. “It’s nice to see her get a little reward for everything she has given to this program.”

The shot was from 30 yards out and found the top left corner of the goal over the Akron goalkeeper’s outstretched arms. This was Salopek’s first goal of the season and the fourth of her career.

The Flashes and their fans went into a frenzy in the Dix Stadium stands as Akron did not have enough time to score a game-tying goal. 

The Flashes will return to action in Dix Stadium on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Eastern Michigan.

EMU is 1-4-5 on the season and is 1-0-1 in the MAC. KSU has won two consecutive games against the Eagles and four of the previous six matchups.

“Every time you play a MAC team, it’s a battle for 90 minutes,” Marinaro said. “We gotta step up and make sure that we are ready to go.”

Matthew Franos is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected]