Field hockey just misses OSU win

Senior forward Madison Thompson passes the ball to a teammate Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016 in the game against Ohio State University at Murphy-Mellis Field.  

Brandon Busby

Kent State’s field hockey team played a hard-fought match against The Ohio State University Friday, coming up just a point shy of tying the game in the final minutes.

Last season the Flashes trumped OSU with a 3-1 victory. This win was the first one by Kent State in eight meetings between the two teams. The Flashes are 7-23 all time against the Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes would have the upper-hand for most of the game; They kept the score at 3-0, until the Flashes scored with just seven minutes left to go in the match.

OSU’s first two goals were the outcome of teamwork between junior Maddy Humphrey and freshman Esther Clotet Alsina.

The first goal was scored by Humphrey, who was assisted by Clotete Alsina; the second goal came from Alsina, assisted by Clotet Alsina. The 3rd goal was scored by junior Irene Fritschy, in the 54th minute.

Kent State’s first goal would come very late in the game from junior Silvia Figa Malgosa in the 63rd minute; less than a minute after she had just taken a narrowly missed corner shot.

Just four minutes later redshirt junior Alison Harmatz, the leading scorer on the team, would sneak in Kent State’s last goal of the game.

Although they suffered a tough loss, the Flashes still show signs of a team hungry for more conference play.

In last week’s games against Ball State University and Longwood University, Kent State held their opponents to just three goals, 15 shots and six corners. The Flashes themselves scored six times, took 33 shots and six corners.

Malgosa was named the MAC Female Scholar of the Week. She scored four points in last weekend’s matchups against Ball State and Longwood University, leading her team to two wins in the first two games of MAC play.

The Flashes’ next game will be the Cancer Research Game at home against Central Michigan University on Sunday. The match is meant to raise money for V Foundation for Cancer Research.

Brandon Busby is a sports reporter, contact him at [email protected].