After picking up their first win of the season last weekend against St. Louis, the Kent State Field Hockey team looked to build on the victory on a two-game road-trip over the weekend.

Penn State 8, Kent State 0

The Flashes struggled against No.5 Penn State (3-2) on Friday, allowing five goals in the second half.

The Nittany Lions thrived early in the first half when Alexis Horst scored in the 10th minute on an assist by Aurelia Meijer. Penn State added two more goals, ending the first half with a 3-0 lead

The Flashes had their fair share of opportunities in the first half, as they had four shots on goal but were not able to follow through. In total, Kent State had eight shots on the day with senior forward Jessica Apelt leading the Flashes with two .

In the second half, the Nittany Lions offensive came to life, scoring back-to-back goals in the 37th minute. Later in the half, they scored another three goals to make it 8-0.

“Honestly, overall on the day we as a team, it just wasn’t our best effort. I think overall looking at today (Sunday) compared to Friday was two totally different games and teams,” coach Kathleen Wiler said. “I think with Friday it just not really great effort on our part.”

Kent State 6, Temple 2

After a rough game on Friday, the Flashes’ (2-5) offensive surged against Temple (1-5). The team scored six goals to come back against the Owls on Sunday.

“(Sunday) was an awesome effort. We made a lot of adjustments. We definitely worked a lot harder than we did on Friday,” Wiler said.

Temple scored first with two goals late in the first half to take the lead. The goals were scored by Nienke Oerlemans and Annie Judge, respectively.

The Flashes’ defense responded, holding the Owls to six shots on goal. Junior Mary Crumlish tallied four saves on the day in goal.

Kent State had a strong second half, during which they scored all six goals. Senior forward Jessica Apelt scored a team-high two goals in the win.

“I just think overall our strikers, our forward players, they were in really great position today and I was just really happy to see them firing on all cylinders and getting them all in the position that were working on,” Wiler said.

The Flashes will take on the University of the Pacific (4-3) Friday at 6 p.m. in Stockton, California.

 Amanda Levine is a sports reporter. Contact her at [email protected].