Final Stats
KENT, OH - Kent State withstood several second-half barrages by Toledo and held on for a 1-0 victory on Sunday afternoon at the KSU Soccer Field.
"Even though we didn't get the result we wanted, I was proud of my team's performance today," Toledo Head Coach Brad Evans said. "We battled some tough circumstances all weekend. I thought we played really well, especially in the second half, and gave ourselves plenty of scoring opportunities, but the ball just wouldn't cross the line."
Golden Flashes (8-7-1, 5-3 MAC) goalkeeper Alicia Fernandez matched her career high with 12 saves and received plenty of help along the backline as the home team had two team saves and several blocked shots in taking down the Mid-American Conference's first-place squad.
KSU's Kimberly Dimitroff provided the only scoring on the afternoon, blasting a shot from the top left side of the box into the right corner of the goal at the 35:13 mark. It was one of just three shots on goal by the Golden Flashes.
"Kim scored a great goal," Evans said. "We didn't do anything wrong on the play, but she just hit a great shot and scored a great goal. It is a credit to her."
Toledo (5-7-3, 4-2-1 MAC) had a couple great scoring opportunities in the second half, but was turned away both times. With 21 minutes to go, freshman Molly Cornwell hit the post and junior Sarah Schulte's rebound attempt was blocked off the line. Two minutes later, Cornwell again had a chance to tie the match but KSU's Brittany Fracasso made a swift save to clear the ball before it crossed the line.
The Rockets made one final attempt in the closing seconds. A pair of headers were blocked and Fernandez turned away shots by Cornwell and sophomore Tara Witt in a frantic span of 1:05. She then deflected a header from freshman Ali Leak and knocked Leak's rebound attempt out of bounds with eight seconds to play, essentially sealing the victory for the home squad.
"Kent State really made it did difficult for us to score today and their goalkeeper made a couple fantastic saves," Evans said.
Despite the loss, Toledo held a 25-12 advantage in shots and a 7-3 edge in corner kicks. Senior netminder Jen Whipple made two saves for the Rockets.
The Rockets return home next weekend for the final time in the regular season for a pair of matches. UT will face Eastern Michigan in a Friday, Oct. 20 match, beginning at 4:00 p.m. at Scott Park. Two days later, the Midnight Blue and Gold will battle Central Michigan on "Senior Day", starting at 1:00 p.m.
Kent State 1, TOLEDO 0
KSU: K. Dimitroff (Unassisted), 35:13
SHOTS: UT 25, KSU 12
SAVES: UT 2, KSU 14
CORNER KICKS: UT 7, KSU 3
FOULS: UT 16, KSU 17
