Kent State sophomore midfielder Catharine Marosszeky (right) heads the ball away from Bowling Green midfielder Brianne Eisenhard. REBECCA MOIDEL | DAILY KENT STATER

Credit: DKS Editors

A tight-knit group is an understatement when describing the 2007 Kent State women’s soccer team.

With a 7-8-1 (4-4-0) record on the season, the Flashes have been able to overcome a slow start and hope to finish the season with three straight wins in the Mid-American Conference. Team unity has played a major role.

“We have a really good senior class and we all get along,” senior midfielder/forward Brittany Fracasso said. “We’re really close; we’ve been close since our freshman year.”

“It’s a tight-knit group,” head coach Rob Marinaro said. “It’s a wonderful group of young ladies and they know what they need to do in order to be successful.”

The tight relationship of the upperclassmen has trickled down to the freshmen and sophomores who have been able to make an immediate impact on the field. Sophomore Catharine Marosszeky and freshman Josee Charron each find themselves in the top five in scoring on the team.

“We just try and translate that down to the underclassmen,” Fracasso said. “Everyone gets along very well. We just listen to each other and we’re positive.”

Other underclassmen that have made impacts include Jackie Barath, Beth Diederich, Kelly Heaton, Megan Hill, Lauren Evans and Annie Messer, who have all seen significant playing time.

Along with practices and matches, the Flashes also attend the home football games together as well as occasional team dinners.

“We’re like each other’s best friends outside of soccer,” Fracasso said. “We work with each other all the time.”

Though it may be trying at times, Fracasso explained that the team always finds a way through tough times with each other.

“It gets to the point where it’s kind of tiring after a while,” said Fracasso, “but we always come back together in the end.”

That work will surely be tested this weekend as the top-ranked team in the MAC, Ball State, visits. The last time a MAC number one visited the Kent State soccer field, the Flashes prevailed with a 1-0 victory over Toledo.

In that match, Kent State was vocal all over the field. They worked together offensively and defensively in a complete team victory.

Since then, the Flashes have lost two straight games on the road in conference.

“Our team was very sluggish,” Fracasso said. “There was no intensity level. It just comes down to heart, and we didn’t have any this past weekend at all.”

Nevertheless, the Flashes have three more games, two of which are this weekend at home. The team could still finish the season above the .500 mark for the season.

“They pull together when they really need to,” Marinaro said. “It’s coming down late in the season and they will all pull together and work extremely hard to make our program successful.”

Contact soccer reporter Chris Gates at [email protected].