When the Chippewas were in the Kent State shooting circle, junior forward Shannon Dwyer passed the ball towards the net, and senior forward Carly Kubacka tipped it so it changed direction.The Kent State goaltender missed the block, giving Kubacka her first goal for Central Michigan and its second goal of the game.

The Golden Flashes, however, had already built up a lead too large for the Chippewas to come back from, leading to a loss in the conference matchup, 7-3 on Friday.

“I'm really proud of our second half. I thought we played great in the second half,” head coach Jennifer Johnstone said. “The first six minutes of the game really killed us and put us on our heels 0-3. So really I think we came alive in the second half, and we showed what we were capable of. It's just unfortunate we didn't play that way for 60 minutes.”

In desperate need of a win, the Chippewas were looking to break their nine game losing streak. However, Kent State played an aggressive game, taking control early and never letting up.

The Chippewas found themselves pinned in their half almost immediately. Kent State applied pressure early, and scored the first goal of the match less than two and a half minutes into the game. Senior midfielder Agustina Florio scored the goal for the Golden Flashes.

Kent State continued to attack, dicing through the Chippewa defense with ease. The Golden Flashes scored their second and third goals of the game before the midway point in the period.

“You kind of have to make sure you're ready to go the minute the game starts,” Johnstone said. “We can't be waiting for a quarter or two quarters and then playing catch up. So I think it's really important that we come out on our front foot and it's something we've been emphasizing now for the past few games.”

The Chippewas were given their first penalty corner of the game with about a minute and a half left in the first quarter. Taking advantage of the opportunity, junior midfielder Amelia Lane took a pass from sophomore backer Klara Mikulaskova and shot the ball into the net on the Chippewas' first shot of the game to close the gap on the scoreboard.

The Golden Flashes wasted no time responding to the Chippewa goal. At around the 18 minute mark of the game, freshman forward Delfina Larripa added on to the Kent State lead, scoring her second goal of the game with a shot right in front of the net.

Kent State continued to push Central Michigan, shutting down the Chippewas on defense. The Golden Flashes added on one more goal before halftime, with sophomore forward/midfielder Maybritt Duwel scoring her second of the day with 1:34 left in the half, increasing the lead to 5-1.

While Central Michigan applied more pressure in the second half, the Golden Flashes continued to score. Sophomore midfielder Eva Usoz scored a goal early in the third quarter, before the Chippewas responded with Kubacka’s goal.

“I think the most exciting part for me today is we had a really big spark off our bench and a lot of kids who, you know, don't play all the time really came in and brought a really good energy, and I think that was a really positive thing for us today,” Johnstone said.

In the fourth quarter, the Golden Flashes were given a penalty stroke, which senior midfielder Bella Carpenter used to score the team’s seventh goal of the game.

Central Michigan was able to add one final goal to its tally as junior forward Mallory Camryn used assists from senior midfielder Kaitlyn Bowker and Lane to score the third and final goal for the Chippewas.

The Chippewas are 0-6 in conference play this season, and are running out of time to grab their first win over a Mid-American Conference opponent.

“I think it's the consistency piece for us right now because we are young,” Johnstone said. “We're really young, so it's getting through those growing pains right now, but I think we're capable of winning our first MAC game.”

Central Michigan is at home for their next match as they take on Miami (Ohio) on Friday at 2 p.m.