The 2017 season will begin for Kent State field hockey this weekend with two games in New Jersey. The Flashes will face Rutgers on Friday at 1 p.m. and Monmouth on Sunday at noon.
Coverage
• Live stats will run for both games. Links can be found at kentstatesports.com
• Rutgers will have a live stream of the game on BTN Plus, available for a fee
• Follow the action on Twitter @KentStFH
The Matchups Season Outlook Wiler Continues to Wow Strong Starts
Rutgers:
• Kent State and Rutgers have met just one time in program history
• That game was played in September 1998 with the Flashes taking a 3-1 road victory
• The Scarlet Knights were an even 9-9 last season, going 2-6 in Big Ten play
Monmouth
• Kent State is 1-1 all-time against Monmouth
• The two teams first met in 2013 with KSU winning 5-1 at a neutral site
• Last season, the Hawks visited Kent where they slipped away with a 3-2 victory
• Monmouth finished the 2016 with a 17-3 record and 6-0 mark in conference play, winning the MAAC Tournament to advance to the play-in game of the NCAA Tournament
• The Hawks are coached by Kent State alumna Carli Figlio
• The Golden Flashes are looking to build on five-straight MAC regular season titles and three-straight MAC Tournament titles as they begin the 2017 campaign
• Last season, the team finished 14-7 and 6-0 in conference play, ending the season with a 2-1 loss in the NCAA Tournament
• The 2017 squad is bolstered by seven starters from last season's postseason lineup
• The senior trio of 2016 NFHCA All-American Ines Delpech, Jamie Fries and Silvia Figa Malgosa return to anchor a defense that allowed just 183 shots from the opposition last year
• Familiar midfielders Jessica Nesbitt, Helen Harper and 2016 MAC Freshman of the Year Berta Jover Llorens also are returning
• The attack will be led by seniors Alison Harmatz, Shannon Talbot and Eilidh Thomson with returners Laila Richter, Jessica Apelt and Kortney Keller contributing
• Adding to the team's depth are veterans Hannah Weidman, Courtney Weise, Aileen Ahlers, Alex Luxardo, Melanie Scibilia and Maddey Pope
• Newcomers Sarah Grace Ritter, Ashley Bonetz, Hailie Balachick, Shannon Reilly, Madeline Osgarby and Clara Rodriguez Setó will all look to contribute
• In net, two freshman goalkeepers, Azure Fernsler and Kylie LeBlanc, will fill the void filled by a former four-year starter
• Kent State was selected by the conference head coaches to repeat as both regular season and tournament champions this year in the annual preseason poll released earlier this month
• Head Coach Kathleen Wiler continues to cement herself as the most successful coach in program history
• Entering her 12th season in 2017, Wiler has 124 wins to her credit, three away from standing alone as the winningest coach in KSU field hockey history
• The five-time MAC Coach of the Year already holds the most MAC regular season titles (8) and MAC Tournament wins (5)
• She has guided four players to All-America status and has also seen her teams continually break academic records
• Kent State has started the season in impressive fashion the last two seasons
• In 2016, the program went 3-0 to begin the year
• It marked the first time since 1995 that the Flashes started the season perfect after three games
• The team handed Coach Wiler her 100th career victory to open the 2015 season as they triumphed to a 3-2 overtime victory