UB women’s soccer (7-5-6, 4-4-2 MAC) lost 2-1 to the Kent State Golden Flashes (11-6-2, 7-4 MAC) on Thursday. After winning the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship last season, the Bulls missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
While the Bulls’ effort to defend last season’s MAC title fell short, one of this season’s bright spots continued to shine in the season finale. Sophomore midfielder Katie Khron scored the lone UB goal in the Kent State loss, moving her into a tie for third in UB’s Division-I history for single-season goals (13), while continuing her lead in the MAC for goals scored, goals scored per game (0.722), total points (30), shots on goal per game (1.61) and points per game (1.67).
The Bulls hit the ground running, with two shots in the first five minutes, one from fifth-year midfielder Leah Wengender, and another from Krohn. The game was scoreless until Kent State freshman forward Josie Morgan fired a shot to the lower left corner, past Bulls senior goalkeeper Rebecca Winslow, and brought The Golden Flashes to a 1-0 lead by the end of the first half.
The second half started with the Bulls generating two shots on net, one by Krohn and the other by junior midfielder Ashleigh Fortunate both narrowly missing the net. Buffalo stayed on the offensive, hammering the Golden Flashes with free kicks, corner kicks, throw-ins, and a shot, until the 53rd minute, when sophomore midfielder Sarah Woods made a pass to Krohn, who scored to tie the game at 1-1.
The Bulls only recorded two more shots on the net after their goal, one from junior forward Arianna Zumpano, and the other from Kaylin Ricci, a junior defensive midfielder. The Golden Flashes scored one final time after a nearly 35-minute dry spell after another lower left shot, this time from junior midfielder Alisa Arthur.
While the rest of the game was still action-packed from fouls, throw-ins, shots, and free kicks, the final score of the last game of the regular season, and the final game for the 2023 UB women’s soccer team, remained at 2-1. No. 4 Kent State advanced to play No. 5 Northern Illinois (8-8-3, 6-4-1 MAC) on Sunday, beating the Huskies 3-0 to advance to the MAC semifinals against No. 1 Western Michigan (12-3-3, 8-0-3 MAC) on Thursday.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that women's soccer had made the playoffs every year since 2018. They have made the playoffs every year since 2013.
The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
