Story Courtesy of Kent State Athletic Communications

KENT, Ohio – The Kent State women's soccer team handed Western Michigan its first loss against a conference opponent this season, knocking off the top-seeded Broncos 2-1 in the Mid-American Conference semifinals.

The Broncos came out of the gates aggressive, but the Golden Flashes' defense were able to fend off the aggressive attack. Even though Western created a number of chances early, it was the Flashes that were able to get on the board first. Mary Kate Lape sent a stellar cross in from the far side of the field and found Alisa Arthur with space inside the box. Arthur did what she does best and hammered home the game's first goal in the 28th minute.

Arthur leads Kent State on the season with 10 goals and 25 points. Lape's assist was her fourth of the year.

Just minutes later, the Flashes struck again. Callie Cunningham got the ball inside the box after Josie Morgan forced a defensive error and fired a one-timer off the outside of her foot and past the diving keeper. The score – Cunningham's second of the season – took the wind out of the sails of Western Michigan and the Flashes went into the break up by two scores.

The Broncos, 45 minutes away from their first loss to a MAC foe, upped the intensity on their attack. But time and time again, the Flashes' defense came out on top. Ava Todd and Abby Breitschuh had massive individual defensive stops throughout the half while Dalaney Ranallo and Kelsey Salopek made attacking from the wings incredibly challenging. In goal, Sarah Melén made several spectacular saves to keep the WMU attack at bay.

Western was able to get one goal back in the 85th minute and continued to push the attack forward. Melén came up clutch in the 88th minute, diving to her right to save a threatening header off of the Broncos' 13th corner kick of the game. The Flashes' defense stood strong in the final two minutes, securing a spot in the Mid-American Conference Championship game for the second time in the last three seasons.

Alanna Raimondo led the Kent State offensive attack, pacing the squad with three shots and two shots on goal. All four starting defenders for the Flashes played the full 90 minutes.

Melén earned the 30th win of her career - tied for the fourth-most in program history – after tallying seven saves.

NEXT UP
Kent State will face No. 6 Ohio in the MAC Championship on Sunday, Nov. 5. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+. The two squads last met in the first game of the conference schedule when the Flashes earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over the Bobcats.