The Kent State women’s soccer team struggled on both sides of the ball as the team took a beating in an 8-0 loss to Louisville Thursday.
The Cardinals dominated the stat sheet with 33 shots compared to the Flashes’ three. The Cardinals made 16 of those 33 shots on goal while the Flashes couldn’t reach the net.
“I know they are a good team,” said Rob Marinaro, KSU women’s soccer coash. “I am really disappointed because I don’t think we gave ourselves the opportunity to really compete tonight.”
THE BREAKDOWN
The first half was all Louisville. Within a 10-minute stretch, the Cardinals scored four of the team’s five first-half goals.
Senior defender Karsyn Cherry scored the first goal off a penalty kick in the ninth minute. Just two minutes later, junior midfielder Betsy Huckaby delivered the second goal of the game off a penalty kick. Goals by sophomore midfielder Amelia Swinarski and junior midfielder Liza Suydam completed the Cardinals’ scoring stretch.
“They got two penalty shots for the first two goals, and that really set the tempo for the game,” Marinaro said. “We didn’t respond the way necessary in order to make it a competitive game.”
Senior forward Mackenzie Geigle scored the final goal of the half for Louisville at the 36th minute. Things didn’t get any easier from there, as KSU sophomore defender Allison Collins received a red card moments later and caused the Flashes to play down a player for the remainder of the game.
“The girl pushed her while she was trying to gain possession,” Marinaro said. “The referee saw a push, so it was considered a violent flag.”
The Flashes continued to struggle with possession and failed to keep the net clear, with the Cardinals scoring three goals in the second half.
“It’s a really difficult way to play,” Marinaro said. “We just need to step up individually and make better choices as a team.”
KSU junior goalie Leah Shaffer had eight saves on the night. The Flashes had three corner kicks compared to the Cardinals’ eight. The fouls between the Flashes and the Cardinals remained pretty even as KSU had 12 and Louisville had 14.
Swinarski had three goals on the day, and Suydam followed her up with two.
Marinaro hopes the team learned some important lessons from the tough loss.
“We have to do a lot better, and we have to step up individually and collectively in those moments,” he said. “I think we just didn’t make the choices necessary in order to keep the ball — we just turned the ball over way too much.”
UP NEXT
The Flashes will head to Rochester, Michigan, to take on the Oakland Golden Grizzlies Sunday at 1 p.m. The Grizzlies are 1-4-1 on the season, while the Flashes enter the game 2-2-2 after the team’s loss to Louisville.
“At this point, we have to turn this around and bring the battle to the game and become way more aggressive in our play,” Marinaro said.
Emily Bezjak is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].
