Field hockey stays hot in win over Longwood

Sophomore forward Madison Thompson and Ball States Mikayla Mooney fight for the ball during Kent States 6-1 victory on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014 at Murphy-Mellis field. The Flashes improved their record to 7-8 with the win and are undefeated in the Mid-American Conference.

Sophomore forward Madison Thompson and Ball State’s Mikayla Mooney fight for the ball during Kent State’s 6-1 victory on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014 at Murphy-Mellis field. The Flashes improved their record to 7-8 with the win and are undefeated in the Mid-American Conference.

Richie Mulhall

Senior field hockey player Hannah Faulkner picked up right where she left off Sunday afternoon.

After registering a career-high four goals in Saturday’s victory over Ball State, Faulkner scored in her eighth consecutive game to give the Flashes a narrow 1-0 edge against Longwood University on Sunday. 

The game’s lone goal came in the 24th minute of action when Faulkner netted her fifth goal in two days on a feed from freshman Silvia Figa Malgosa. The defense held on the remainder of the game and kept Longwood’s offense at bay.

Faulkner’s eight-game scoring streak ties her for second longest in program history, matching Debbie Bell’s streak from the 2009 field hockey season, according to kentstatesports.com.

With Saturday’s and Sunday’s wins, the Flashes (8-8, 5-0 MAC) remain undefeated in the Mid-American Conference and subsequently stay in first place in the conference. As the team’s spotless record stands right now, Kent State is guaranteed at least a share of the MAC regular season title, but an outright championship bid is yet to be determined.

That bid will be on the line next weekend when the Flashes travel to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, on Saturday to face the second-place Central Michigan University Chippewas. 

Kent State’s regular season ends Nov. 2 at Northwestern before the team returns home to Murphy-Mellis Field on Nov. 7 and 8 to host the MAC Tournament as either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed.

Contact Richie Mulhall at [email protected].