OXFORD, OHIO -- Appalachian State University field hockey suffered a 4-0 defeat to No. 2 seed Kent State in the MAC Tournament semifinals on Friday afternoon at the Miami Field Hockey Complex. With the win, the Golden Flashes will advance to the tournament championship game Saturday against Miami.
App State concludes the 2018 season with a 7-14 record. The Mountaineers earned their first two MAC Tournament victories in program history earlier this week, defeating Central Michigan 5-1 in the opening round Wednesday and Longwood 2-0 in the quarterfinals Thursday.
The Mountaineers recorded the first shot of the game within the first two minutes of the game. Sophomore
Veerle Van Heertum's shot sailed wide after freshman
Friederike Stegen inserted the ball off a penalty corner.
Kent State scored the opening goal in the 10th minute. The Golden Flashes then doubled their lead in the 27th minute to take a 2-0 lead into halftime.
After the break, freshman
Anna Smarrelli tried to ignite a second-half comeback with a shot on goal in the 47th minute, but Kent State's Mary Crumlish denied the freshman's attempt. Kent State then tallied goals in the 51st and 59th minutes to extend its advantage to 4-0.
Four different Mountaineers recorded shots -- junior
Ali Williams (two), Van Heertum (one), Stegen (one) and Smarrelli (one).
Van Heertum and Stegen both were named to the MAC All-Tournament Team for their stellar performances in Oxford. Van Heertum tallied two goals and an assist in the victories over Central Michigan and Longwood. Stegen recorded career highs in points (five) and goals (two) in App State's opening round victory over the Chippewas. The Laatzen, Germany native also recorded an assist against Longwood.
The Black and Gold began the season with a 4-1 record. The Mountaineers' fast start included two thrilling overtime victories over Davidson and Rider.
The team also celebrated 50 years of women's sports at Appalachian by dedicating its new fieldhouse facility before the Louisville game in September.
