OSU sophomore midfield Morgan Kile (8) carries the ball for the on Oct. 2 against Maryland at Buckeye Varsity Field. Credit: Lantern file photo
Ohio State field hockey welcomed the Kent State Golden Flashes to Columbus, which had a couple flashes of its own at game time, Friday.
The match scheduled for 3:30 p.m. was delayed by an hour due to multiple sightings of lightning in the area. However, in the late stages of the game, the Buckeye defense stayed grounded.
OSU was able to hold off the Kent State Golden Flashes in the final minutes of a closely contested match; finishing on top, 3-2.
Since beginning its run in Big Ten play this season, OSU (4-7, 0-3) had lost four straight matches before its match against Kent State. The Buckeyes came into the game knowing they had something to prove.
The match did not start out in OSU’s favor, as Kent State pulled out three shots on goal within the first seven minutes of game play. That quickly changed after freshman midfielder Esther Clotet Alsina and junior midfielder Maddy Humphrey tag-teamed together on a breakaway goal.
For Humphrey, that goal marked her team-leading eighth goal of the season.
Kent State continued to put the pressure on OSU with a total of nine shots in the first half. This was largely due to to the four penalty corners given up by the Buckeyes. However, junior goalkeeper Liz Tamburro welcomed the challenge and kept a zero on the board through one half.
Tamburro finished the half with five saves before adding four more in the second. For the second time in the last three games, she made nine or more saves.
After the second half commenced, the dynamic duo of Clotet Alsina and Humphrey was back at it again; but this time with the roles reversed. Humphrey assisted Clotet Alsina with a close range score against senior goalkeeper Andrea Rinehart.
Clotet Alsina now has one point in six of 11 games and has multiple points in five matches.
Sophomore Irene Fritschy earned her first career goal with the Buckeyes with 17:20 remaining in the contest. Her goal pushed the lead to 3-0.
However, Kent State would not go away quietly in the final moments of the game. After nine penalty corners, junior midfielder Silvia Figa Malgosa gave the Golden Flashes their first point of the night with 6:49 still on the clock.
Kent State put another point on the board with only 2:49; closing OSU’s lead to only one. But as the clock ran out, the Buckeyes emerged victorious and broke their losing streak. OSU has now won five of the last six meetings against Kent State.
The Buckeyes finish their non-conference break against Ball State (4-6) on Monday. OSU has not lost to the Cardinals since 2007 and have won 15 of the last 17 contests.
OSU is set to travel to Schumann Stadium to face the Cardinals at 3 p.m.
