The Kent State field hockey team went 1-1 this weekend in Evanston, Ill., defeating Northwestern Friday but losing to American on Saturday.

After a 10-day layoff, the team won its fourth consecutive game of the season Friday when it defeated Northwestern, 4-1. Freshmen Rachel Miller and Nicole Leach each had a goal, and Miller added two assists.

With another big weekend, Miller tied for the team lead in goals with four. She also leads the team with four assists.

The win over Northwestern was the second victory this season for the Golden Flashes over a Big Ten team, having defeated Ohio State earlier this season.

“Beating these Big Ten teams is great for us,” coach Kathleen Schanne said. “It is also great for the reputation of the conference in general to show that we can play with the big teams,” Schanne said.

The winning streak was snapped Saturday by the nationally ninth-ranked American, losing 3-0. Two goals by American’s Christine Fingerhuth proved to be too much for the Golden Flashes.

Schanne said the score does not indicate how close the game actually was.

“Statistically, we had very similar numbers to American,” she said. “The big difference was that they executed the opportunities they had.”

Schanne said she was pleased that her team ran with the top-10 Eagles for the entire 70 minutes. She said playing a team like American really allows the team to show the progress it has made.

“We just keep improving every game we play in,” she said.

Junior forward Natalie Barrett, who shares the team lead in goals, missed this weekend’s games due to injury. Schanne said she was impressed by the way her team stepped up in Barrett’s absence.

“It was a total team effort,” Schanne said. “We played some really good teams. I thought we executed well and played exceptionally well this weekend.”

One-third of the way into the season, the Golden Flashes are 4-3. Schanne said the team made goals for each third of the season. She said they have reached some and failed with some others. She said although they did accomplish a lot of goals, there is always something to improve on.

The Golden Flashes now have a week to prepare for the Mid-American Conference schedule. The team has games at Miami on Saturday and Ball State on Sunday.

Contact field hockey reporter Jeff Russ at [email protected].