The Kent State field hockey team secured four goals in the fourth quarter Friday on its way to its biggest win in two years.

The Flashes beat Ball State 7-0 to improve to 2-0 in the Mid-American Conference. They are tied for first place with Miami; the two teams were picked to finish first and second in the conference in the coaches preseason poll.

The seven goals were the most goals KSU has scored since it defeated Bellarmine 7-0 two years ago.

“We had an offensive explosion,” coach Kyle DeSandes-Moyer said. “We were really looking to execute offensively, and it’s great to see the team succeed in areas that we’ve been working on. Our stats were commanding, It’s always awesome to see that in a MAC game.”

The Flashes outshot Ball State 11-0 in the first half and 23-3 for the game.

Going into the game, Ball State shared the best overall record in the MAC with Ohio at 4-2. Kent State is now 4-4.

DeSandes-Moyer said, “Our team was hungry.”

The Flashes, who hadn’t scored in the first half all season, took a 1-0 lead 1:36 into the game on a goal by senior Larissa Balachick who took a pass from freshmen Patricia Strunk, then tapped the ball into the back of the net.

“We set a goal of scoring five minutes from the start,” DeSandes Moyer said. “It’s about setting the tone of the game from the jump.”

Nine minutes into the second quarter, senior Maria Cambra Soler scored on a penalty corner. Junior Danielle Hamm’s insertion pass went to stick stop Larissa Balachick. Cambra Soler, the team’s leading returning scorer from last year, then slapped the ball into the net for her first goal of the season.

“We really wanted to improve our penalty corners,” DeSandes-Moyer said.

Kent State outpaced the Cardinals in penalty corners 5-1 and converted two of those corners.

In the final 12 minutes of the game, the Flashes’ offense buried the Cardinals with four goals.

Junior Jenna McCrudden scored first and freshman Maia Sarrabayrouse added another two minutes later. McCrudden and Sarrabayrouse lead the team this season with three goals each.

Then, freshman Emma Rolston scored her first collegiate goal and Cambria Soler added her second goal of the day.

“I’m proud of what we’ve done today,” Cambra Soler said. “We’re just going to keep looking forward and working hard.”

The Flashes play at Ohio (5-2) at 2 p.m. Friday and at Ohio State (3-4) at 1 p.m. Sunday.

“We’re connecting with each other,” Sarrabayrouse said. “We’re starting to understand how we play together and how our teammates think.”

James Goddard is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].