Central Michigan’s offense jumped out of the gates on Saturday, as the Chippewas scored four goals in the first five minutes of their game against Kent State. The Chippewas’ defense held the Flashes to two goals in the first half. 

After a strong offensive performance by the Flashes against Howard, Kent State’s offense was stunned, as its first goal came in the 17th minute on an unassisted goal by freshman midfielder Abby Jones.

The Flashes struggled to keep up, falling 21-5 to the Chippewas.

“Jones got a few shots, but not as many touches as she typically has, since we were playing so much defense and struggled with clearing the ball,” coach Brianne Tierney said.

Tyra Prince scored the Chippewas’ first goal 49 seconds in. Central Michigan added to the score with a goal by Emma Hamilton, assisted by Jocelyne Lemay.

“Today was a bit of a set back in how we have been playing,” Tierney said.

“We did well on draw controls but struggled on the defensive end to slide as a unit and let CMU shoot from in front of the goal uncontested.”

Central Michigan went on to score 11 more goals in the half. Hamilton led CMU with three goals, while Lemay had two.

In the 20th minute, freshman attacker Katie Stachler scored the second goal for the Flashes. 

After allowing a couple more goals to the Chippewas, freshman attacker Lluna Katz scored in the last minute of the half.

Opening up the second half Central Michigan’s Natalie Karlen scored on an assist from Jessica Schuchardt. Two minutes later, Karlen scored again on a free position shot. After another goal by the Chippewas, Jones scored again.

The last goal of the game was scored by CMU’s Julie Lindsey on a free position shot.

Kent State will take on Liberty University in its last regular game of the season. The Flashes will face off against the Liberty Flames at Dix Stadium at 3 p.m.

“We’ve definitely had better games and I look forward to coming back strong on Wednesday and ending the season on a high note,” Tierney said.

Amanda Levine is a sports reporter. Contact her at [email protected].