After another winless weekend, the Kent State soccer team’s chances of playing in the Mid-American Conference tournament are slim.

The Flashes (5-11-1, 2-7-1 MAC) needed to win against conference opponents Bowling Green (11-5-3, 6-3-1 MAC) and Toledo (13-4, 8-2 MAC) over the weekend but lost two close games to both teams.

“We play to win, and if we’re not in the tournament then we couldn’t be anymore disappointed,” Kent State coach Rob Marinaro said. “This team was capable of great things, and it just wasn’t meant to be this year.”

Yesterday, Kent State lost 3-2 at Toledo in a game that was an offensive battle in the first half.

After Toledo junior forward Ali Leak gave the Rockets the lead at the 21:02 mark, sophomore forward Kelly Heaton quickly tied the game at the 22:54 mark. Toledo would regain the lead with a goal from freshman forward Kristen Lynn but only kept the lead for 15 seconds after sophomore forward Annie Messer scored at the 35:34 mark.

After the high scoring first half, the pace of the game slowed down as Kent State had only three shots.

“I thought we controlled the game, especially in the first half,” Marinaro said. “We had two goals called so it was just a very disappointing and frustrating day.”

Toledo took the lead at the 73:44 mark with a goal from senior midfielder Tara Witt. The Rockets prevented Kent State from scoring for the rest of the game to preserve the victory.

Senior midfielder Caitlin Hester led the Flashes with five shots, two shots on goal and an assist. Kent State was outshot 18-12 and committed 17 fouls compared to Toledo’s seven.

Kent State lost Friday 1-0 at Bowling Green. Freshman Alyssa Zuccaro scored the game’s only goal at the 10:06 mark.

Despite the opportunities the Flashes had, they were unable to convert on nine shots on goal.

“I thought the team played well,” Marinaro said. “It comes down to they had one opportunity, and I thought we had a lot more. Unfortunately, we came out on the short end of it.” Kent State outshot Bowling Green 15 to seven and committed 18 fouls compared to Bowling Green’s 12 fouls. Hester led the Flashes with four shots and four shots on goal.

Senior goalkeeper Kris Nelson had a total of 10 saves over the weekend.

Marinaro said he was happy with the team’s mentality throughout this season and expects the team to play hard in the season finale against Buffalo.

“They haven’t showed any quit, and every game they’ve showed up to play and give it everything they have,” Marinaro said. “I look forward to Thursday being another game that they want to send the seniors off on the right foot and also show everybody they’re a good team.”

Contact sports reporter Nick Walton at [email protected].

Contact sports reporter Nick Walton at[email protected].

Game notes

Road woes

The road was unkind to Kent State again as the losses dropped them to 2-8 on the road this season.

All-time records

Friday’s lost to Bowling Green dropped Kent State’s all-time record to 3-9-3 against the Falcons. Yesterday’s loss to Toledo dropped the Flashes’ all-time record to 8-5-1 against the Rockets.