When Miami beat the Kent State field hockey team 3-2 in overtime on Sept. 26, the Flashes wanted revenge.

They achieved it this weekend, beating Miami 3-2 on Saturday.

“It’s always a dog fight when we play Miami,” Carla Johl said. “We’re both emotional and passionate teams, so it’s good to get a win against them, especially since they got us earlier in the season.”

Kent State (10-6, 5-2 Mid-American Conference) set the tone early in the match-up when senior midfielder Rachel Miller scored in the 17th minute off a penalty corner.

Johl repeated Miller’s tactic with a penalty corner goal in the 34th minute, putting the Flashes up 2-0 at the half.

“We played really well in the first half,” Johl said. “We got in there quite early in the game, and I think that helped a lot.”

Freshman midfielder Rebecca Lee brought in the last goal of the game for the Flashes three minutes after Johl.

Miami (9-8, 5-3 MAC) tried to come back with two goals in 14 minutes in the second half, but it was too late.

The Flashes kept the momentum going with a 7-4 victory over Ball State yesterday.

“We needed to put together a good weekend and we did,” said Kent State coach Kathleen Wiler. “It’s good to start the second round of MAC play with two wins.”

Junior forward Debbie Bell set the tone early, scoring in the eighth minute off a penalty stroke. The goal marked her 15th of the season and 65th career goal, tying the Kent State record for all-time goals scored.

Two minutes later, Miller scored her sixth goal of the season.

The Cardinals (5-9, 2-5 MAC) were up 3-2 in the second half, but the Flashes replied with five goals in 18 minutes.

“Ball State is always an interesting game because they’re not quite Miami, but they play with a lot of fight,” Johl said. “We had some really beautiful plays and some really nice goals.”

Johl picked up two more goals in the 49th and 67th minute off penalty corners. Miller also scored off a penalty corner in the 57th minute.

Lee and senior forward Nicole Leach finished out the goals for the Flashes in the 57th and 65th minutes.

“Obviously, we always go into our games wanting to come away with a win, and we were able to do that,” Miller said. “I think we were a little disappointed that we let them (score) as much as they did, but it was really nice to win.”

That win marked the third double-victory weekend for the Flashes and bumped them into a first-place tie in the conference with Miami and Ohio. Kent State will face Ohio on Friday in Athens.

“It’s a bit of a tight competition,” Johl said. “We need to win both games this weekend for a shot at the regular season title. We’re right up there, so hopefully, things will go our way.”

This weekend: Kent State 3, Miami 2 Goals: 17th Miller (Bell) Kent State 34th Johl (Miller) Kent State 37th Lee (Leach) Kent State 42nd Brightwell (Snyder) Miami 56th Snyder (Landeros) Miami Kent State 7, Ball State 4 Goals: 8th Bell (unassisted) Kent State 10th Miller (unassisted) Kent State 15th Hermes (Sawicki) Ball State 37th Lulow (unassisted) Ball State 45th Kuhn (Lulow) Ball State 49th Johl (Miller) Kent State 57th Miller (Bell) Kent State 57th Lee (Leach) Kent State 65th Leach (Johl) Kent State 67th Johl (Miller) Kent State 67th Kuhn (Hammer) Ball State Player of the weekend: Rachel Miller The two-time All-American posted three goals and 3 assists this weekend. Stat of the weekend: 1 With a 5-3 MAC record, the Flashes are tied for first place in the conference with Miami and Ohio.

Contact Rachel Jones at [email protected].