Coach Rob Marinaro’s Kent State women’s soccer team had to respond. The reigning Mid-American Conference champions didn’t see their season get off to the start they had hoped for, dropping the first two games of the campaign to Purdue and Cleveland State, both by final scores of 2-1.

The difference between good teams and championship winning teams often involves how they overcome adversity. The team responded with a resounding 4-0 win Sunday against St. Bonaventure.

“Ultimately, we needed to come out with a lot more intensity than we’ve shown the last couple of games,” Marinaro said. “We really came out and dictated the tempo of the game, so I think that was big on the positive side for us.”

The scoring opened up in the 10th minute when freshman Vital Kats scored from just outside the box off of an assist from senior Donavan Capehart, and the Flashes never looked back from there.

Freshman Cameron Shedenhelm added to the tally with her first goal of the season with a header off of a corner kick in the 42nd minute. By this point, the Flashes had taken over the game and were in complete control. St. Bonaventure didn’t register a shot on goal in the first half.

“Defensively I thought we were fantastic today as an entire unit,” Marinaro told Kent State Athletics. “We were shutting them down and on the ball with a lot of pressure, and that’s what we’re asking our team to do and they really executed today.”

Senior Hayden Pascoe snagged her first of the campaign with a cheeky lob goal over St. Bonaventure’s keeper in the 53rd minute before Shedenhelm polished the game off with her second of the day in the 64th.

Senior goalkeeper Katie Kingsbury made her first start of the season, keeping a clean sheet as the Bonnies didn’t register a shot on goal the whole game. Freshman Karly Hellstrom got her first collegiate points with two assists.

“(The team) showed all the ingredients for being successful,” said Marinaro. “The work rate, the pace of play. It was a special performance.”

The Flashes will be back in action Friday, Sept. 1 as they travel to Fort Myers, Florida, to take part in the FGCU Tournament. The first game is at 7 p.m. against Florida Gulf Coast University.

 Cameron Hoover is the sports reporter, contact him at [email protected].