Kent State women’s lacrosse dropped a tough match against the Butler Bulldogs, 18-9, in its first home game of 2020 Friday afternoon. 

The Flashes battled back throughout most of the second half, cutting the Bulldogs’ lead to 11-8 with 12:50 to go, but it wasn’t enough to stop Butler’s high-flying offensive attack, who pulled away late to secure a road victory and improve its record to 3-1.  

“Our shots just weren’t falling today, and credit to their goalie; she made some really great saves,” coach Brianne Tierney said. “Defensively, we started to make things chaotic for them, putting pressure on them, which I like to see. Hopefully we can build on that going into Cincinnati.”

The Flashes played together and spread the wealth offensively, with seven different players scoring goals. Sophomore midfielders Abby Jones and Eva Nikolai scored two goals each, while Jones had an assist to midfielder Madison Rapier five minutes into the second half for her third goal of the season.  

“We got to share the ball a little bit more, see some ball movement and find open players more,” Tierney said. “I loved seeing that.”  

With the game tied at three, the Bulldogs built up and maintained a five-point lead over the next 12 minutes of play. The Flashes fought back to end the half, with Nikolai taking a draw control and sprinting all the way down the field for an impressive goal to cut the lead down to 10-6 before halftime.  

Sophomore attacker Megan Kozar, midfielder Meghan Cawood and freshman attackers Morgan Kubicki and Kenzie Sklar also scored goals on the day. Butler goalie Amanda Rumsey racked up 11 saves, taking away two would-be goals on aggressive shots from Kent State’s Jones.

Kent State is now 0-4 on the season, and will next take on the University of Cincinnati at 3 p.m. on March 8 at Dix Stadium. The game was originally scheduled on Feb. 7, but was postponed due to a snowstorm. The Bearcats (0-4) will also be seeking their first win of 2020 next Sunday.  

Mason Lawlor is a sports reporter. Contact him at [email protected].