Another premier defensive performance led the Kent State women’s soccer team to a 1-0 victory over the Toledo Rockets Thursday. This puts the Flashes at 8-5-5 overall and 6-3-2 in Mid-American Conference play. This is the Flashes’ fifth shutout win of the season. 

With this win, KSU secured a spot in the MAC Tournament. The tournament will be held at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. 

“I am so proud of this group; they worked very hard to get a playoff spot,” Coach Rob Marinaro said. “When it was on the line, they got the job done.” 

THE BREAKDOWN

The first half is where the Flashes picked up the pace offensively. In the 32nd minute, junior forward Josie Morgan nailed a penalty shot to put the Flashes up 1-0 early. This is Morgan’s fourth goal of the season. Both teams played tremendous defense to keep the rest of the half scoreless.

“I thought Josie Morgan had a wonderful game and came up big, drawing the penalty shot,” Marinaro said. 

The stat sheet remained fairly even as each team had the upper hand at different points in the game. The Flashes had 12 shots, eight of them being on net, while the Rockets had eight shots, three of them being on net. 

KSU also had the upper hand in corner kicks, as the team had six while the Rockets had three. The Rockets had more fouls, with nine, as the Flashes had seven. 

“Our defense and Shaffer in goal were solid tonight and really did well limiting Toledo’s opportunities, ” Marinaro said.

The second half remained pretty quiet, as neither team could create any scoring opportunities. Both teams struggled to find the net in the second half, as the Flashes only had four shots compared to eight in the first.

Both teams played strong, physical defense to keep the rest of the game scoreless. 

“We kept it the same since we were getting most of the offense and possession,” Marinaro said of the team’s play style going into the second half.

Junior goalie Leah Shaffer had three saves on the night. Shaffer has accumulated 71 saves so far this season.

UP NEXT 

The Flashes head back on the road for the team’s final game of conference play. KSU will play the Miami Redhawks on Oct. 29 at 3 p.m. The Redhawks are 9-5-2 overall and 6-2-2 in MAC play. Miami will face off against Ball State on Sunday before heading home to take on the Flashes.

“We are going to stay aggressive and continue to create the opportunities we did today,” Marinaro said.

Emily Bezjak is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].