Oct. 19, 2012

Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -

The Missouri State field hockey team (4-10-0 overall, 2-3-0 Mid-American Conference) suffered a 4-3 overtime loss to Kent State on Friday afternoon in one of the most exciting games of Missouri State's 2012 campaign.

The Golden Flashes started quickly and stuck Missouri State with a 2-0 deficit in the game's first eight minutes. Kent's Rebecca Lee started the scoring with a goal past MSU goalkeeper Andrea Bain at the 2:49 mark. Julia Hofmann - one of the conference's leading scorers - scored the second goal off a penalty corner in the center of the circle about five minutes later.

However, the Bears showed remarkable resilience and fought their way back into the contest. With about 12 minutes remaining in the first half, junior forward Hillary Lawless cut Kent State's lead in half when she knocked in her eighth goal of the year from about 10 yards out. She was assisted by freshman Holly Scherer, who picked up two assists on the day.

The 2-1 score carried into the second half, but Missouri State knotted it at two goals apiece in the game's 40th minute. On a penalty corner, junior Laura Tavares took a center-circle pass from Scherer and found the back of the cage.

But the Bears weren't done there. With about 10 minutes remaining, freshman Sydney Richelieu scored her second goal of the year off a deflection.

Things were looking good for MSU, as the Bears defense held the lead for the next eight minutes. However, Hofmann knocked in her second goal of the day with just over a minute remaining in regulation. The clutch, game-tying play resulted from a corner pass by the Golden Flashes' Alyssa McFerren.

The game went into a sudden-death, 15-minute overtime period, which was extremely competitive. The teams remained gridlocked at three goals apiece for 13:58, but Kent State's Hannah Faulkner scored the game-winning goal off a right-side pass from Rebecca Lee. Faulkner beat a lone Missouri State defender and slipped a shot past Bain to win it for the visitors.

Missouri State's Reiann Stoute picked up her conference-leading eighth defensive save, and Bain notched six saves in 10 tries.

The Bears will return to action on Sunday when they take on No. 8 Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. The game will start at 12:30 p.m.