The Kent State Golden Flashes fell to the Longwood Lancers 3-2 in overtime Sunday, causing the team to fall to last place in the Mid-American Conference.
Longwood attempted just four shots throughout the game, with three on goal. Unfortunately for the Flashes, the Lancers nailed all three attempts. On the other hand, KSU recorded 19 shots.
“We’re not taking care of business in the circle, which is the most important part of the game,” coach Hefner said.
Despite her impressive performance last week, senior goalkeeper Allison Wood did not record any saves, allowing all three shots to find the back of the net.
“I do think it’s tough anytime you’re playing a game and you’re primarily in the attack,” Hefner said. “It makes those moments count even more when they come down and are attacking our circle because it’s kind of quiet for a while, they don’t have to do a lot, and then all of a sudden you have to do a lot. It is a hard mental game for a goalkeeper.”
On the other side of the ball, senior forward Emma Rolston notched her sixth goal of the season and extended her scoring streak to two games. Her goal was unassisted at the sixth-minute mark.
The Flashes held a 1-0 lead throughout the first half of the game, but the Lancers tied the game early in the third period courtesy of a goal by junior forward Channy Johnson.
Early in the fourth period, the Flashes managed to retake the lead off a score from senior defender Lauren Conroy. This was Conroy’s third goal of the season, and her first goal in a little under two months.
“She put herself in the right spot and made contact with the ball, which was awesome,” Hefner said. “I’m excited to see her get that.”
With time of the essence, it seemed that the Flashes would hold on to secure the win. However, with less than three minutes left, Lancer’s graduate student midfielder Zoe Tierney found the back of the net to tie the game and force the game into overtime.
Unfortunately for the Flashes, overtime was short-lived, only lasting two minutes after Johnson scored her second goal of the night, winning the match for the Longwood Lancers.
“We didn’t play by our principles,” Hefner said. “We tried to attack into the numbers and tried to create opportunities that weren’t actually presenting themselves.
The loss moves KSU to 2-8 overall and a 1-3 conference record.
Looking ahead, the Flashes will travel to Louisville, KY, for a contest against the 2-9 Bellarmine Knights. Bellarmine holds the number six spot in the MAC Conference and has a match with the University of Louisville prior to the game against the Flashes.
“I know that they’re going to come and be ready to fight. They’ve had a couple of MAC wins recently, so they’re on a bit of a streak,” Hefner said. “We’re going to have to get our heads back on this week, find a few things we need to focus on and then be ready to attack Friday.”
The MAC Tournament is set to start Nov. 4 and run until Nov. 8 in Harrisonburg, VA. Hefner knows the Flashes will have to battle hard to qualify for the tournament.
“Everybody is fighting at this point for a spot in the MAC Tournament. It’s really anybody’s opportunity with all the different wins and losses that you had across the conference.
Lexie Blatnik is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].