After winning its first conference matchup, the Kent State women’s lacrosse team now finds itself with a 1-4 record in Mid-American Conference play, vying for the final spot in the MAC tournament.
The Flashes took on the Eastern Michigan Eagles (8-8, 4-2) April 13 and lost 15-8.
Kent State scored first, and after surrendering two consecutive goals, scored again in the final half-minute of the first quarter, tying the game at 2-2.
The Eagles, however, took control of the game in the second quarter when they outscored the Flashes 6-1, taking an 8-3 lead into halftime.
The Flashes fought to get back into the game, scoring the first two goals of the third quarter to cut the Eastern Michigan lead to three.
The Eagles would respond, scoring four straight goals for a second time in the game, and took a commanding 12-5 lead.
Kent State would score early in the fourth to dip into the lead, but another Eastern Michigan run, this time of three goals, put the game away.
The Flashes were able to tack on a pair of late goals to make the score more respectable, but ultimately, it was a 15-8 home loss.
Kent State played its final road game of the regular season six days later at MAC-leading Robert Morris (7-9, 4-1). The Flashes competed much better but still came out on the losing end.
The Colonials struck first, scoring two goals in the first five minutes, but, over the course of the rest of the first quarter, Kent State fought back and eventually took a 3-2 lead late in the quarter.
Robert Morris, again, struck first in the second quarter, and again, the Colonials scored two straight to retake a one-goal lead.
The lead lasted less than two minutes, as Kent State tied the game at 4-4 halfway through the second quarter.
However, Robert Morris would reclaim its lead before halftime and take a one-goal lead into the break.
The Colonials would grow their lead to two with the only goal of the third quarter, and with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, they struck again, taking a 7-4 lead.
Kent State began the road back with a goal at the nine-minute mark but went cold offensively after.
The defense kept the Flashes in the game, and with two minutes left, they finally scored again to cut the lead to one and went on to tie the game half a minute later to force overtime.
The first two four-minute overtime periods ended scoreless, but with under a minute and a half remaining in the third overtime, the Colonials scored to win 8-7.
The Flashes will return home Saturday to play an elimination game for the final spot in the conference tournament when they take on the Youngstown State Penguins (6-8, 1-4) at 1 p.m.
Demetri Manousos is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].