The Kent State soccer team needed overtime to decide its Mid-American Conference quarterfinal match against Miami University (OH). The teams were knotted at 1-1 and went into a golden goal overtime where two halves could have been played.

“They defended extremely well,” coach Rob Marinaro said. “When we got the ball, we did a really nice job of trying to keep control of it, have it for a time period that would wear them out and then, obviously, try and create opportunities for ourselves.”

They did not need to be played.

The minutes of overtime melted away down to the last one, and Kent State pushed through to force a huge corner. Taking it was senior midfielder Siena Stambolich.

In the last game of the regular season that clinched a playoff berth for the Flashes, Stambolich took a corner and curled it in off the kick, pushing the Flashes through.

Sunday, the story was retold.

With 12 seconds left, Stambolich knocked the ball toward the Miami net, and it curled in before time could expire, thrusting the Flashes on to the next round. Stambolich’s fourth goal of the season set the Flashes up with a date with top-seeded Western Michigan in the MAC semifinals Thursday.

“Siena’s been banged up and playing on some injuries, so for her to be able to give us what she’s still giving us, is just a tribute to the kind of competitor that she is,” Marinaro said. “For her to score the goal that she’s scoring, from the corner of the field, and bending in the way it does, that’s just an individual talent and skill that you don’t see very often. So, it was really excellent to see that outcome, and for her to score that point. That was huge.”

The 2-1 result marks the second year in a row the Flashes have beaten the RedHawks in the playoffs. 

“We had a great start,” Marinaro said. “We played really well, they put in the effort that we need to be successful, and they defended extremely well.”

This was also the Flashes’ fourth win in a row at home. 

“With the pressure of being in the playoffs, to come and find the result in overtime is attributed to them not giving up and continuing to give however long it takes,” Marinaro said. 

The breakdown

Kent State got off to a good start in the second minute when senior midfielder Alisa Arthur scored. It was her 10th goal of the season, which ties her record from last year. 

“Alisa is starting to find the back of the goal, and she’s extremely dangerous on the offense,” Marinaro said. “Teams have been keying in on her, and she’s finding a way to break free from double and triple teams. She knows that the end of her senior year is close, and she wants to make sure she can extend that for as long as she can.”

The RedHawks evened out the score with seconds left in the first half.

“Defensively, we need to stay structured, not give up opportunities and create our own opportunities,” Marinaro said. “At this time of year, with everybody being really good, we need to limit our mistakes, create opportunities on the other end and even create mistakes from the other team.”

The game went to overtime thanks to the work of the team maintaining possession.

“We moved the ball really well,” Marinaro said. “We stuck to our game plan, we knew what was going to work – and they tried to do that on a consistent basis.”

After the 90-minute game was over, the match went into an overtime period split into two 10-minute halves where Stambolich put the nail in the coffin to move on.

“We didn’t break down that door until overtime, but they were on it for the good majority of their game,” Marinaro said.

Kent State led in shots (14-11) and corner kick opportunities (9-1), but the teams were even on shots on goal with five apiece. 

Arthur led the Flashes with four shots, freshman forward Jules Dolinski led in shots on goal with two and senior goalie Heidi Marshall recorded four saves.

Up next 

Kent State will travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., Thursday for the MAC semifinals against the No. 1 seed Western Michigan Broncos at 2:30 p.m. 

“Western Michigan is a fantastic team,” Marinaro said. “They’re really good on offense, so we need to neutralize their offense, slow them down and see if we can slow their opportunities.”

The Flashes lost 3-1 in their last matchup with the Broncos earlier this season in a home game.

The Broncos’ last loss was Aug. 23, and the team is on a 14-game lossless streak. The team has only allowed seven goals in MAC play and has shut the opponent out in seven MAC games.

“We need to make them play defense and make them nervous on that side of the ball versus us having to defend too much,” Marinaro said. “So, it’s really about the effort that’s going to be given and trying to create more opportunities than the other team.”

Western Michigan finished the season 11-1-6 overall and 8-0-3 in the MAC.

“We need to continue with what we do well and try and do that even better,” Marinaro said. “We’re at a point now in the season where we’re down to the final four teams, and everybody’s really good. So, we’re not doing anything real poorly right now, and we’re not doing anything just amazingly. We’ve got to find the balance between both.”

Emily Lowen is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].