Kent State suffers first home loss of season in 3-1 defeat to Ohio University
KENT, Ohio (BVM) — The Kent State soccer team looked to rebound Thursday against Ohio University (OU) following its first loss of the season to Miami University (OH).
It wasn’t meant to be as in a downpour, Kent State fell to OU, 3-1.
Ohio struck first when midfielder Jenni Santacaterina lightly headbutted a ball off the left side of the net following a penalty kick by forward Abby Townsend at the 4:34 mark of the first half.
Kent State would have opportunities to answer right back, but at 7:47, midfielder Maddie Holmes missed high, and at 15:00, a penalty kick by midfielder Vital Kats missed wide left.
At 27:52, Ohio expanded its lead to 2-0 when defender Heather McGuire fired a strike with her foot from about 30 yards away right past Kent State goalie Sarah Melen into the net.
Coach Rob Marinaro said when the team fell behind 2-0, they panicked.
“It’s really difficult to go down 2-0 in soccer,” Marinaro said. “The pressure got to us, and we didn’t execute well today at all.”
The score remained 2-0 entering the final minute of the first half when Melen, following a save, kicked a rocket all the way down to the Flashes’ scoring zone. Kats shot the ball towards the goal as time expired, but Ohio’s goalie Sydney Malham made the save to keep Kent State off the scoreboard in the first half.
Early in the second half, Kent State had opportunities to get back into the ballgame when they had four shots within the first nine minutes, but none went into the net.
Marinaro said those missed opportunities cost them the game.
“That’s the way the game is played,” Marinaro said. “You create your own luck, and we didn’t have luck on our side today.”
The score would remain 2-0 until Ohio midfielder Carsyn Prigge scored a goal at the 62:28 mark to expand her team’s lead to 3-0.
With 69:15 on the clock, Kats had another opportunity to get a goal for Kent State, but her floater kick landed right into the arms of Ohio’s Malham.
It wasn’t until 75:38 when defender Tianna Harris fought for the ball in the middle of a scrum near the Flashes’ offensive zone to cut the lead to 3-1.
“I saw the ball was bobbing around,” Harris said. “I just saw a chance to score, so I kicked the ball as hard as I could, and it wound up in the goal.”
Kent State had one more opportunity to score when at 77:34, forward Amanda Winquest had a one-on-one opportunity at the net, but her shot craned off the left post of the net.
Ohio hung on for the 3-1 victory, dropping the Flashes to 2-2 on the young season.
Harris thinks the team needs to win more one-on-one individual battles, and the weather shouldn’t be an excuse.
“Ohio dealt with the same weather we did,” Harris said. “We all need to fight for one another. I need to encourage the team to fight more, and if we can win those 50-50 balls more often, we’ll get back on track.”
Both teams next compete on Sunday. For Ohio, they travel to Buffalo. As for Kent State, they have a road date against Bowling Green.
