This week, Kent State soccer will head to “Sin City” to compete in the UNLV Nike Invitational, a four-team invitational tournament that will feature the University of Colorado, Saint Francis University, Kent State and the host school, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The Flashes’ first game of two in the tournament will be a match against the Saint Francis Red Flash Friday at 4:30 p.m.

Kent State is currently 1-1, winning its opening game 3-0 against Western Illinois, but falling short, 1-0, at St. Bonaventure.

Senior Calli Rinicella, who has two assists this season, says her team needs to start off strong Friday.

Rinicella said the keys to the game will be “staying focused and coming out and warming up with the right mentality and getting ready to take care of business in the beginning of the game.”

Saint Francis has yet to put a notch in the win column, as the Red Flash dropped its first two games to St. John’s and Delaware. They were collectively outscored 4-0 by the opposition and have not scored a goal since their 3-2 loss in an exhibition match against Cleveland State.

On the other side of the pitch, the Flashes were picked to win the MAC East Division in the MAC Preseason Poll; however, head coach Rob Marinaro thinks the poll is irrelevant.

“The preseason poll means nothing,” Marinaro said. “It’s just some people voting.”

Instead of focusing on the preseason predictions, Marinaro said the team will concentrate on its efficiency on the field, not on paper.

“What we need to do now is get on the field and produce, and take every game as it comes and do the best we possibly can and get better with each game,” Marinaro said.

Saint Francis was picked to finish first in the Northeast Conference Preseason Poll, despite the 2013 NEC champions being without their top three players from last season. Graduated seniors Tesa McKibben, Barbara Maros de Carvalho and Ellie Gavin accounted for 31 of 45 Saint Francis’ goals and 31 of 46 Saint Francis’ assists in 2013.

Marinaro recognizes Saint Francis’ recent history, but wishes focus more on improving his team Friday.

“Saint Francis is an excellent team,” Marinaro said. “It’s had a lot of success in the recent past, but for right now, with the way we’re doing things, we’re just getting our own game going and improving game by game.”

Contact Ben Orner at [email protected].