After three consecutive disappointing shutout losses, the Kent State soccer team is hoping its return to the field this weekend will end with better results.

The Flashes lost 1-0 at Pittsburgh last Friday and 3-0 at Michigan State on Sunday, and they hope to put those losses behind them when they play at Eastern Kentucky at 5 p.m. today.

“We’re definitely eager to come back out and get back to playing how we know how to play,” senior forward Caitlin Hester said. “It didn’t put a boost to our confidence after last weekend (with us) losing both games, so we’re looking to take it to Eastern Kentucky.”

Hester said the team has tried to focus harder on practice in order to rebound.

The Flashes are playing in their fourth straight road game and the final game of a four-game road trip. They are currently 1-4 away from Kent this season.

After this week, the Flashes will start their Mid-American Conference schedule with two games at home.

“It’s definitely very important to come out with a win right before we start the MAC,” Hester said. “We’re looking forward to MAC starting, and we’re looking forward to hopefully bringing that to Eastern Kentucky so that we can have that momentum going into MAC. It’s the most important part of our season.”

After getting outshot 46-21 in its last three games, Kent State is trying to improve its level of play.

“Some of it goes with our intensity level, and we’ve been working to get our production higher offensively,” Kent State coach Rob Marinaro said. “Those are all things we’re well aware of, and we continue to straighten them. And hopefully we’ll see the results this weekend.”

Marinaro said the team’s intensity level picked up during the week in preparation for Eastern Kentucky.

The Flashes have never faced Eastern Kentucky and will have to prepare with little information on the team.

“We really don’t know a lot about them other than some scouting reports,” Marinaro said. “They’ve had some real close results with a lot of opponents that we’ve seen, so it’s going to be a big challenge.”

Throughout the losses, the Flashes are still working as a team.

“It’s hard for every single one of us to lose a game – we’re all competitive athletes,” Hester said. “Because we’ve been so unified, we’ve been able to keep each other’s heads up after a game (and) pick each other up so we can learn from the mistakes that we’ve made and move on to the next game.”

Contact sports reporter Nick Walton at [email protected].