The season and its success was hard to earn for the Kent State soccer team, as the team did not clinch a spot in the MAC playoffs until the last game of the regular season in a 4-2 win against Bowling Green on Halloween.
In the first round of the playoffs, Kent State battled for the game to go to overtime, where the match was won off a corner kick, and the Flashes moved on to the semifinals.
Once the team got to the semifinals, the season came to an end Thursday after a hard-fought 4-1 loss to top-ranked Western Michigan.
“Obviously, I’m very disappointed in the outcome, but I’m very proud of this group and everything that they brought to the table,” coach Rob Marinaro said. “I think they gave us the most they could.”
This is the Flashes second time this season the Flashes have lost to WMU.
Kent State ended its season with a 9-7-3 overall record, and 5-4-2 in the MAC.
The breakdown
Western Michigan scored the first goal in the 12th minute to get ahead on the scoreboard.
A little bit later in the 19th minute, senior midfielder Alisa Arthur shot a penalty kick for Kent State, which was the only point they had all game.
“She got the final product, took care of the pressure, gave us the goal and took care of that business,” Marinaro said.
The Broncos scored back-to-back in the 37th minute and in the 39th minute, leaving the score at 3-1 going into halftime.
The Flashes had 45 minutes to respond, or the team would go home with the season over.
“We needed to play a little bit better and not make mistakes that would cost us,” Marinaro said. “A great team like Western is going to capitalize on it. I don’t think that we got any help with calls, but you got to work through those things.”
Kent State held Western Michigan to make only one more shot during the half, which didn’t go in.
The Flashes’ offense struggled to find the goal during the second half. They fired 3 shots, none of which went in.
“They worked really hard and they stayed together,” Marinaro said. “Some unfortunate calls didn’t allow us to build momentum, and that’s unfortunately part of the game, but they gave us everything they could.”
Western Michigan scored again in the 63rd minute to put the game out of reach.
The Flashes trailed in shots (16-9) in the box score, shots on goal (8-6), and corner-kick opportunities (9-6).
Senior goalie Heidi Marshall was pelted with shots in her final game, as she allowed four shots to go in but saved four..
Western Michigan advanced to the MAC finals game after beating KSU, and Kent State ended its season.
In her last game of her collegiate career, Arthur led the Flashes with her 11th goal of the season, a penalty kick. The goal pushed her to reach a new career-high in goals in a season.
Her final season, which earned her a spot on the All-MAC Second Team, ended with 11 goals, one assist and 23 points.
Marinaro will be without his most productive player going forward for next season, but the team has time to regroup and reload before it takes the field again.
“I think they’re looking at the entire season on the ‘should haves’ and ‘could haves,’” Marinaro said. “We just learn and grow from those moments. We have gained a lot of valuable experience. Unfortunately, we lose our seniors, but they are an amazing group of people that we’re going to sorely miss. They’ve really shaped this program into a winning culture, so we’ll continue with that.”
Emily Lowen is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].
