Senior goalkeeper Heidi Marshall was forced to face the highest number of shots against her this season when she saw Duquesne shoot the ball 20 times against the Kent State soccer team Sunday.

Of the 20 total Duquesne shots, Marshall saw only 10 shots on goal, and she was able to save six shots while allowing four to cross the plane in a 4-2 KSU loss.

The six saves are a career-high for Marshall, but the four goals allowed are also a career-high.

The Flashes were on a three-game winning streak (with a tie in the mix) before the team faced Duquesne.

The team was an undefeated 3-0-1 and was outscoring opponents 11-5 coming into the game.

After the 4-2 loss, the Flashes dropped to 3-1-1 on the season. 

There have been no Mid-American Conference matchups for any team, but the Flashes are tied for fifth place in the conference with their out-of-conference record.

The breakdown

The game was tightly contested to start, as the score remained unchanged through the first 40 minutes of play.

Duquesne was finally able to break through on its ninth shot of the game in the 40th minute to make the score 1-0.

The Dukes also saw two of their players get yellow cards and were awarded a corner before the goal was scored.

There were no more shots in the first half, and Duquesne took the narrow lead into the break.

After halftime, the goals kept coming, as both teams combined for five goals in the second 45-minute period.

The lead was doubled on a Duquesne goal in the 53rd minute, but the Flashes responded quickly.

In the 57th minute, Kent State got on the board off the foot of senior midfielder Alisa Arthur. The freekick goal was her first of the game and fourth goal of the season in five contests.

Arthur is coming off a two-goal performance last week in the win against Colgate University.

It took just 26 seconds for Duquesne to regain its two-goal lead, making the score 3-1.

The Dukes collected their third yellow card of the game before the next goal was scored, which was courtesy of Arthur, again. The midfielder has had back-to-back two goal games for the Flashes, and her goal count has reached five goals in five games this season.

Both of her goals against Duquesne came off freekicks.

The score was close with plenty of time left, but the Dukes scored one last time to put the game out of reach in the 79th minute.

Still, the Duquesne attack did not cease, as the team put three more shots on Marshall before the game ended in a 4-2 score.

A deeper dive

Duquesne was playing with five yellow cards throughout the game, while the Flashes only had two. 

KSU was more than doubled up in fouls against, as they accounted for eight fouls, while Duquesne made 18 fouls.

The Duquesne attack was relentless all game, as the Dukes put up nine shots in the first half and 11 in the second half – both of which were more shots than the Flashes attempted in the entirety of the game.

Kent State was more efficient with its shots, as the team totalled eight shots and seven shots on goal, while Duquesne shot it 20 times with only 10 shots being on goal.

The Kent State offense continued to capitalize, as the team averages more than two goals per game this season. The Flashes have not had a game where they did not score less than twice.

The four goals allowed is the most given up by a Flashes team since over a year ago on Aug. 31, 2023, in a 5-0 loss to the Arizona Wildcats.

This was also the Flashes’ first loss since the MAC title game defeat last season.

Looking ahead

The Flashes are back in action Friday on the road.

The team will face off against the University of Kentucky at the Wendell and Vickie Bell Soccer Complex in Lexington at 7:30 p.m.

The Flashes have never played Kentucky before in program history, but the Wildcats have had an incredible start to their season.

The team is a perfect 7-0 to start, with a win against the No. 9 team in the nation UCLA. The Wildcats defeated UCLA 2-0 but are not ranked themselves.

The Flashes will look to get back in the win column on the road, which has not been easy, as the team has a 1-1-1 record away from Kent.

John Hilber is sports editor. Contact him at [email protected].