The Kent State soccer team fell short in its conference opener to the Bowling Green Falcons and ended the match with a 2-1 loss Sunday.
The Flashes struggled to finish possessions and generate scores. The loss moves KSU to 2-3-3 (0-1). The team has lost or tied in its last four games and has yet to win in September.
“We worked extremely hard, and I’m really proud of the effort the ladies gave today,” coach Rob Marinaro said.
The breakdown
In the first half, KSU put up a good defensive fight but couldn’t quite keep the Falcons away. The game was scoreless until the 35th minute, when junior Falcons forward Emma Stransky scored a powerful shot in the left corner, with an assist from forward graduate student Ellie Pool.
The Flashes picked up the offense at the end of the first half but couldn’t put it away. In the final moments of the half, freshman midfielder Maya Justice just missed the right side of the net.
“We pressed them a little bit higher up with a few more numbers up there to see if we could catch them,” Marinaro said. “We turned it back over so we could create some more opportunities.”
In the second half, the Flashes came out aggressive and scored early off a great corner kick. Senior defender Kelsey Salopek nailed the ball in the center of the net with the assist from junior midfielder Samantha Miller in the 50th minute.
It was Salopek’s second goal of the season and broke the Flashes’ scoring drought to put them on the board.
KSU picked up its defense as the game progressed. However, the team’s defense wasn’t able to hold up.
Stransky once again found the net and scored off a goal kick in the 58th minute for her second goal of the game. The goal put the Falcons up 2-1 and secured the win, as the Flashes were held scoreless the rest of the way.
“We definitely pressed them a lot higher,” Marinaro said.“It gave them some trouble, but we just didn’t win the battles in the 18-yard box.”
The Flashes committed 17 fouls, the team’s second-highest total this season, compared to the Falcons 14. KSU had 16 shots, over double the number of shots compared to the Falcons’ seven. The Flashes had seven shots on goal, but only one connected.
The Flashes had nine corner kicks while BGSU had four. The Flashes also had two yellow cards to end the game. At the end of the match, the Flashes had three great looks but just couldn’t finish the ball.
“We just didn’t mark up on set pieces well enough; it hurt us, so we can’t give two goals off set pieces,” Marinaro said. “When we’re as good as we are on those set pieces, a little lapse is allowing people to get a step on us.”
Junior goalie Leah Shaffer has recorded a save and allowed two goals.
UP NEXT
The Flashes next chance for victory is against Ball State Sunday in Muncie, IN, to conclude the team’s road trip. Game time is 1:00 pm. Ball State is currently 4-2-1 on the season.
“We have a whole week ahead of us, so we’ll train and take a look at maybe tweaking a few things here or there, but nothing drastic,” Marinaro said. “We definitely have to see what other options we have.”
Emily Bezjak is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].
