The Eastern Michigan University women's soccer team clinched the sole first place ranking in the Mid-American Conference after defeating Kent State 2-1 on Oct. 4, 2026.
The Eagles returned home on Sunday after two straight road games to take on a struggling Kent State team. The Eagles entered the match on an eight game unbeaten streak while keeping a clean sheet in the last five games. The Golden Flashes however had fallen victim to a 7-1 defeat at home against the Western Michigan Broncos in their previous game.
The Eagles had the opportunity to remain undefeated in conference play and catapult themselves into the top position in the Mid-American Conference with a victory but to do so Eastern would have to fend off a tough and physical Kent State team.
Eastern Michigan was certainly up to the task.
The game started quickly with both teams racing up and down the field with possession constantly changing. Constant communication and quick passing worked in favor for the Eagles against a far more physical opponent in the Golden Flashes.
The referee became involved early when play was stopped midway through the first half to check video replay on a supposed handball by Kent State that would’ve given Eastern a penalty kick. Much to the dismay of the Eagle faithful, the game was ordered to play on and no penalty shot was awarded.
Shortly after the initial review, play was stopped once more to examine a potential foul that had occurred while Eastern was on defense. The referee once again ordered the game to play on, with Eastern fans appreciating the make up call.
The further into the game the two teams got, the longer Eastern had possession. Their constant runs and attacks into Kent State’s territory wore down the Golden Flashes but had yet to find the advantage on the scoreboard.
That breakthrough came in the 41st minute when Annalyse Bauer (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) found the back of the net after the ball pinballed in between her and Kate Cerveny (Elizabeth City, N.C./Northeast Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technologies). Bauer would hit the ball on a one timer into the top left corner of the goal just outside the outstretched arms of the Kent State goalkeeper.
The goal was Bauer’s second in two games after scoring her first career goal in the 1-0 win over Ball State just three days earlier.
With the 1-0 advantage, the Eagles would head into halftime with positive momentum carrying them into the second half.
The second half began very similarly to the first half; both teams went up and down the field before being dispossessed and having to run back to defend.
17 minutes into the second half, the Eagles found the winning goal thanks to Ella Miller (Mount Morris, Pa./Morgantown) teaming up with Avery Hilvert (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) and Madison Hurst (Wexford, Pa./Allison Park, Pa./Robert Morris) to find the back of the net and double their lead. The two-goal lead was exactly what Eastern needed.
As the game progressed, the constant running up and down the field wore down both teams and with Kent State in desperation mode trying to comeback from the two-goal deficit, the game became chippy as the two sides battled it out with their physicality.
Neither team was willing to let the other physically intimidate them and it showed. Both teams had eight fouls in the second half leading to three yellow cards handed out to the Eastern squad and another given to a Kent State player.
The chippiness would not subside and in the 85th minute, the referees made the most impactful call of the game. During a corner kick, there was an apparent contact foul within Eastern’s box resulting in a Kent State player on the ground and an immediate blow of the referee’s whistle to stop play and award the Golden Flashes a lifeline in the form of a penalty kick.
The call would be protested and even reviewed, but once again the call would be upheld, and the Eastern fans made sure to let the referee hear about it, giving their opinions on how he had refereed the entire game up to that point.
The Golden Flashes would slot home the penalty kick into the left side netting, while goalie Ella Holland (Dunwoody, Ga./Dunwoody/Samford) dove to the right. The goal would end her clean sheet streak at five, but the goal would not end the Eagles win streak.
Eastern Michigan mostly spent the last five minutes of the game defending, which seemed more like hours thanks to Kent State's constant offensive attacks into Eastern Michigan territory. Unfortunately for the Golden Flashes, the opportunity to tie the game never materialized.
With the final buzzer sounding, the Eagles and their loyal supporters celebrated the 2-1 home victory helping them take sole control of the top spot in the Mid-American Conference, after UMass tied with Toledo earlier in the day.
With just six more games to play in the regular season, Eastern Michigan will continue building on these MAC victories as they attempt to remain in the top spot and earn a bye going into the conference tournament.
The Eagles will return to Scicluna Field on Oct. 11, 2026, for another conference matchup against the Miami Redhawks.
