The Kent State Field Hockey team came out of its first weekend of the regular season with two games in the loss column, but they are optimistic they can find the win column moving forward.

On Friday, the Flashes lost 3-1 to the Indiana University Hoosiers of the Big Ten Conference and on Sunday, the team lost 4-1 to the No. 11 ranked Liberty University Flames of the Big East Conference. Both games were played at Murphy-Mellis Field, home of the Flashes.

“It was a great pair of games,” coach Heather Hefner said. “I think we’re still trying to figure out a lot as a squad.”

The Flashes have started the season 0-2 for the second year in a row and are one of three teams occupying the bottom of the Mid-American Conference with two losses.

Indiana was able to out-shoot Kent State 18-7 and 8-4 in shots on goal.

“Indiana is a great team — they were very gritty, relentless and, defensively, they were phenomenal,” Hefner said. “They were going for every 50-50 ball, and their sticks were in the way all the time.”

Senior midfielder Bella Carpenter was able to find the back of the net in the third period, putting the Flashes behind by only one goal at the time.

“That was Bella’s first collegiate goal, so that’s really exciting, especially for it to be on the penalty corner — that’s something we’ve been working on quite a bit,” Hefner said.

The game against the Hoosiers was the first game of the season for both squads, and that comes with a little extra excitement.

“Coming into the game, we were ready, but there were the first game jitters that I’m sure every team experiences,” Hefner said.

Hefner stressed the importance of needing every piece on the team to grow, and she looks to see that in everyone moving forward. 

“They didn’t look as confident as I’ve seen them in practice, so we talked a lot about confidence,” Hefner said. “Asking for the ball and demanding the ball was something we can work on coming out of Indiana.”

Having confidence is something that can really ignite a team to rebound after a loss.

“Confidence is a choice,” Hefner said. “Confidence comes from preparation and telling them that they are prepared and ready.”

The Flashes saw sparks of that in the game against Liberty.

Kent State was knotted up 1-1 in the second period against Liberty after senior midfielder Agustina Florio netted her first goal of the season.

“Any time she’s able to put one in the back of the net, that builds confidence,” Hefner said. “The next time she goes to step up, she knows what it feels like.” 

Kent State is also experimenting with goalies junior Alli Wood and freshman Lieve Jansen. The two split the goalkeeping duties in the first two games, and it will look to stay that way going forward.

“They’re both great goalkeepers and have very different styles,” Hefner said. “Right now, we need both of them on the field, and we’re going to continue to play both of them until there is something that changes our mind.”

Sophomore midfielder Eva Usoz also recorded her second point of the season on the assist to Florio. Usoz was the team’s highest point-scorer last season with 22 points.

“Whether she has a record breaking stats year or not, she is going to be a phenomenal player and leader for this team,” Hefner said.

Despite giving the 11th-ranked squad in the country some troubles in the first half, Liberty scored three unanswered goals after the tie.

“We’re familiar with how they play — we knew they would be solid on the corners and that was three out of their four goals,” Hefner said. “We did a lot to prepare for them but it was hard to shut down all their options.”

Hefner was an assistant coach at Liberty for the previous six seasons, so this was a highly anticipated matchup for her.

“It was awesome and sweet seeing their girls after the game, but the game was just another game,” Hefner said.

Liberty midfielder Martu Cian had three goals in the game, someone Hefner coached for three seasons.

“To see her score those goals and to see the rest of the squad show up as leaders is really cool,” Hefner said.

Despite the loss, Hefner saw improvements from the first game to the second.

“It was exciting honestly,” Hefner said. “We lost, but it was a different performance from our group. We were relentless and were more confident and gritty than we were on Friday.”

In the first two non-conference games, the Flashes ran into teams that were more experienced. 

“Any time you play someone that’s better, you see what the standard is,” Hefner said. “As much as we want to push our girls at practice, until they’re pushed by an opponent, they realize they’re still putting things together.”

KSU won’t play against a MAC opponent until Sept. 20 against Ball State University. Until then, Hefner looks to grow with this team and instill some confidence in them before conference play.

“We’ve put in three good weeks of preseason,” Hefner said. “It’s getting them to buy in and believe that they’re good enough to compete with these teams. I believe that, but it’s getting them to believe that is a little bit harder.”

The team also realizes that the season is a marathon and not a sprint.

“There was definitely growth,” Hefner said. “We still have a lot to go, but that’s what the season is for. We don’t need to be where we want to be in November right now. Each weekend and game is a part of the journey that we’re taking to be the best team we can be.”

The team will work hard to avenge these two losses and look forward to better results.

“Coming out of this weekend, I think our girls had their heads held high and their shoulders back because they know they’re a great squad,” Hefner said. “I’m confident that they’ll come to practice on Tuesday ready to work — they’re hungry and they’re ready for a victory in that column.”

Looking ahead, Kent State will head on a West Coast road trip, heading out to play Stanford University on Thursday, California University on Friday and University of California, Davis on Sunday.

“We won’t get too much time to prepare,” Hefner said. “We head out to California at 3 a.m. Wednesday and we play Thursday, Friday and Sunday, so it will be a quick turnaround. It will be just trying to tidy up some things and making those 1% gains.” 

Andrew Gold is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].