The Kent State’s women’s soccer team (8-6-2, 4-3-1 Mid-American Conference) had a busy weekend, playing Friday at Bowling Green and Sunday at Toledo, with its offense struggling in both games.

Bowling Green 3, Kent State 1

Friday’s game started quickly with Bowling Green junior Chelsee Washington heading in a goal in the third minute. Redshirt sophomore Nikki Cox scored the Falcons’ second goal in the 26th minute. The Flashes went into intermission trailing, 2-0. 

Washington scored again in the 69th minute, giving the Falcons a 3-0 lead and almost complete control of the game. Kent State’s only goal came from senior Paige Culver in the 83rd minute. It was Culver’s first goal of the season. 

“The goal came from pretty far out; it was a set piece, and Culver just struck it hard,” coach Rob Marinaro said. 

The Flashes finished the game with an 18-12 shot advantage, but they ultimately suffered a 3-1 loss, their first in five games.

“I think we made mistakes that ended up costing us,” Marinaro said. “When you make mistakes against a good team like Bowling Green, it’s going to cost you.”

Kent State 0, Toledo 0

Kent State started the same lineup for the Toledo game they did against Bowling Green, including redshirt freshman goaltender Faith O’Neill. 

“The players in the lineup were the ones that worked to get us four consecutive wins, and the staff felt it was fair to give them another opportunity to prove themselves,” Marinaro said. 

Sophomore Vital Kats took two shots on goal in the first half, but both teams remained scoreless throughout and went into intermission tied.

The second half was similarly scoreless, and the Flashes headed into overtime. Ten minutes later, it was double overtime. Neither team could find the back of the net, and the game ended in a 0-0 draw. 

Kent State was only able to put three shots on goal, and Toledo managed six. Senior Dominique DiNardo and sophomore Maddie Holmes had shots in the 106th and 108th minutes, respectively, but both sailed high. Overall, the team was outshot, 14-11. 

“Our defense was excellent today,” Marinaro said. “Our back four and goaltending had some big saves.”

O’Neill made six saves throughout the game, tying her career-high, which she set earlier this season in games against Pittsburgh and Central Michigan. This is her fourth shutout of the year. 

“O’Neill was excellent today,” Marinaro said. “She kept us in the game.”

Kent State returns home to play the last two home matches of the regular season against Western Michigan (11-5, 5-3 MAC) on Thursday at 6 p.m. and against Northern Illinois (2-14, 1-7 MAC) on Sunday at 1 p.m. 

“I think the team wants a little bit more from ourselves in coming games,” Marinaro said. “It’ll be nice to be back home to play our game and be a little bit more productive.”