Lacrosse drops third straight with MAC play coming up
Kent State junior attack Jackie Wolford’s seven-goal effort was not enough for a lacrosse-team win Sunday.
The Flashes (3-6) fell to Lindenwood (5-4), 18-13 – their third straight loss. They will enter Mid-American Conference play April 1.
Senior attack Kenzie Sklar opened the game with a hat trick in the first 30 seconds of the first quarter to get KSU on the scoreboard.
Wolford and senior attack Morgan Kubicki later scored but Lindenwood kept up with Kent State to square the game at 5-5 by the end of the quarter.
“They were shutting off Kenzie Sklar so Jackie had to make up,” coach Brianna Tierney said. “Credit to Kenzie for being selfless enough… they work together really well.”
The Lions scored five straight goals in the first seven minutes of the second quarter.
Kent State’s freshman midfielder Emily Bond stopped the run but Lindenwood responded with a goal less than a minute after. Freshman midfielder Peyton Gellin and Wolford scored in the final thirty seconds.
The score was 11-8 at halftime.
Wolford added two more goals for the Flashes in the third quarter but the Lions bounced back with four goals to extend their lead to 15-10.
The Lions slowed the game down in the fourth quarter and scored three goals. Wolford scored three more goals in the final seven minutes, but Lindenwood still led by five.
“They were 6 for 10 on free position shots,” Tierney said. “If you take those out, it is a much tighter game.”
Lindenwood outshot Kent State 31-25 and received 10 free-position shots compared to Kent State’s three. Wolford and Sklar lead the team this season with 29 goals each.
“We’re excited going into MAC conference play, it’s a new season for us in our minds,” Tierney said. “Starting with the wagon wheel rivalry will be huge.”
Kent State will have two weeks of rest before starting conference play against Akron (1-6) at 1 p.m. April 1 at Dix Stadium.
Matthew Franos is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].