Despite outshooting University of California, Davis 19-9 Sunday, the Kent State Field Hockey team fell short 2-0 in its third defeat in four days.
The Flashes took a West Coast road trip to play the Stanford University Cardinal, California University Golden Bears and University of California, Davis Aggies.
Stanford won 3-1 Thursday, California won 3-1 Friday and UC Davis won 2-0 Sunday.
“It obviously wasn’t the results we wanted, but in every loss is lessons learned,” coach Heather Hefner said. “There’s a lot we’re going to be taking back to the drawing board this week.”
The Cardinal got right to work against the Flashes, as they took a 1-0 advantage less than 90 seconds into the first period.
“We started on a slow foot,” Hefner said. “Stanford came out ready to go for their home opener, so they caught us on our heels, and we put together some tough quarters after that.”
The Flashes were able to put together a good fight, leading Stanford in corners 4-2 and having nine shots compared to its 10.
KSU had a 3-0 deficit in the fourth period before sophomore midfielder Eva Usoz put the Flashes on the board with an unassisted goal.
“That’s where you see the fight come out in them. It was really well executed, and it was some momentum that we needed,” Hefner said. “It wasn’t enough to get us the win, but we see those moments come out of this group that are really special.”
Game two of the weekend slate had a similar story, as California jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Kent State. Senior midfielder Agustina Florio found the back of the net in the fourth period, assisted by Usoz and junior forward Emma Rolston.
The Flashes lead the shots on goal department 7-5 despite falling by two goals.
“We’re working on putting four quarters together and not just moments here and there,” Hefner said.
The contest against the Aggies saw UC Davis stop all nine of Kent State’s shots on goal, shutting out the Flashes 2-0 despite having 19 total shots and leading on corners 6-2.
“Our big focus is going to be executing and the attacking third,” Hefner said. “That’s the most amount of shots we’ve had in a game all season, so we definitely need to find a way to get the ball in the back of the net and create a few more corners.”
Although defeated, the Flashes are going to need to continue to win the corner game to have success in the future.
“We have some good threats on corners,” Hefner said. “If we can give ourselves some more opportunities, that will be super helpful.”
Work to be done
In its five games this season, Kent State has yet to take a lead at any point.
“It’s been something we’ve been talking to our girls a lot about,” Hefner said. “There’s a different energy that is lifted when we’re down. We’ve been challenging them, and we’re thinking about how to start fast — how we can be the ones that come out on the front foot. We haven’t done that yet, but each one is preparing us for the next one. I know it will happen eventually.”
The season for the Flashes ends Nov. 1, so there is a lot of time to make adjustments and turn the season around.
Kent State, at 0-5, is in last place among nine teams in the Mid-American Conference standings.
“We’re really trying to trust the process knowing we’re putting the right things in place to put us in some success once we hit MAC play,” Hefner said. “When we get in the attacking 25, it’s about not feeling like we need to get the ball off our stick right away. We need the confidence to carry and keep the ball on our stick and create space for better shooting opportunities.”
The coaches will be putting in the work this week to try and get KSU back on track.
“It’s about having more people on the other side of the circle so if the ball is coming across, they are ready to put it in on the back side of the post,” Hefner said. “There’s a lot we’re going to be working on as a coaching staff this week.”
Back to Murphy-Mellis
The Flashes will head home to take on the Penn State University Nittany Lions. PSU started the season 1-3 and are at the bottom of the Big Ten Conference standings.
The game will be Friday at Murphy-Mellis Field at 3 p.m. It will be the 50th season celebration game and a powder blue out!
“They’re going to be a great opponent,” Hefner said. “I know we’re 0-5 right now, but I love playing these tough teams because it’s continuing to help us to see where we need to grow.”
KSU will look to pick up its first win of the season before heading into its first game against a MAC opponent the following Friday against Ball State University.
“It’s all about trusting the process and believing that it’s going to come,” Hefner said. “Where we’re at in the MAC, the ticket to the NCAA tournament is winning the MAC. I’m not worried — the process is more important right now than the outcomes of the games.”
Andrew Gold is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
