Catharine Marosszeky goes for the ball against Ohio State Aug. 26 at the Kent State soccer field. The Flashes travel to Evanston, Ill., to play Davidson on Friday.

Credit: Jason Hall

There’s no place like home — or Deland, Fla.

The Kent State women’s soccer team began its first road trip of the season with a 2-0 win against Stetson on Saturday. However, the women were not so successful in Orlando, where they suffered a 2-0 loss to the University of Mississippi yesterday as part of the Central Florida Invitational.

The victory over Stetson (3-1) ended the Hatters’ three-game winning streak. Although both teams started off slow in a scoreless first half, the Flashes (2-2) got the ball rolling with a goal by sophomore Lisa Kurz. Kurz’s first goal of the season was a 30-yard free kick at 55:08 in the second half.

“We played very well as a team,” Kent State coach Rob Marinaro said about Saturday’s effort. “We moved the ball around well and came out with a good result.”

Sophomore Kimberly Dimitroff’s goal 76 minutes into the final half guaranteed the win for Kent State. The goal, assisted by fellow sophomore Brittany Fracasso, moved Dimitroff to second on the team’s all-time goal scoring list with 18 career goals.

Junior Alicia Fernandez and freshman Kristen Nelson split the time defending the goal from Stetson’s seven shots. Nelson completed her first career victory, while Fernandez had the Flashes’ only save. As in Saturday’s effort, the Flashes started out slow in the first half against Ole Miss, but this time they were not able to get anything going. The Rebels struck first with a goal off of a corner kick as senior Hillary Beckman was assisted by sophomore Chrissy Strini at 11 minutes in the first half.

Defensively, the Flashes gave the Rebels some trouble with their sweeper style of play. Yet, a half-time readjustment seemed to be too much for Kent State.

“Overall, I think we played well today,” Marinaro said after yesterday’s loss. “We played very well in some parts and not so well in others. We just need to learn how to put 90 minutes together.”

Ironically, not to be outdone by Dimitroff, Ole Miss freshman Amy Bayles scored the game-sealing goal for the team at the 76-minute mark in yesterday’s game as well.

Ole Miss (4-0) kept their undefeated season going strong, with goalies Megan Vickeries and Anne Shelton saving three goals apiece.

The Flashes look forward to improving from .500 at Davidson on Friday.

Contact soccer reporter Deanna Stevens at [email protected].