As game time approached, there was a sense growing around Dix Stadium of excitement and joy as Senior Day kicked off.
The public address announcer echoed through the stadium commemorating each of the team’s seven seniors with a litany of information: their hometown, area of study and every award or honor they had received during their time with Kent State. It quickly became clear that this seemingly inconsequential non-conference matchup was anything but to these players.
The result matched the anticipation as the Flashes beat Dayton, 1-0, on a beautifully-worked goal from Vital Kats. One of the seniors, Kristen Brots, slid a perfectly weighted through ball to Kats, who was running down the left side of the 18-yard box.