Three unanswered goals doomed the Kent State field hockey team in the first round for the 2013 Mid-American Conference tournament.

The top-seeded Flashes fell in a 3-1 upset loss to the Central Michigan Chippewas Friday in Oxford, Ohio, ending the team’s hopes of claiming a conference championship.

Kent State (8-11, 4-1 MAC) earned a regular season championship for its first-place finish but failed to return to the championship round of the tournament, where the Flashes were defeated by the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks in the 2012 tournament.

During the first half of the game, sophomore Karleigh Carlin scored the lone goal on an assist by junior Julia Hofmann at the 29-minute mark of the contest.

After a relatively even first half, in which the Flashes scored its only goal of the match, the Chippewas tallied all three of its goals in the second half. Kent State attempted seven shots in the second half but did not convert on any of them.

Despite their loss in the tournament, the Flashes earned a number of accolades throughout the season. Head coach Kathleen Wiler was named MAC Coach of the Year, and senior Sabrina Binder and sophomore Susanne Felder were included on the MAC All-Tournament following the game against Central Michigan.

Kent State had one of the top offenses in the MAC, leading the conference in the number of goals scored, 19, and assists, 19, according to mac-sports.com. The Flashes were undefeated in home conference matches and had seven players score more than 10 points for the season.

Contact Chris Ginley at [email protected].