Minutewomen Claim First MAC Win, Defeat Kent State 4-0

AMHERST, Mass. -- No. 12 Massachusetts (7-0) earned its first victory in the Mid-American conference with a 4-0 shutout win over Kent State (1-5) on Friday at Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex. The Minutewomen recorded their fourth shutout of the season, conceding just three corners and seven shots on goal in the contest.

Massachusetts earned its third victory over the Golden Flashes all-time, and first in the regular season. The Minutewomen have faced the Golden Flashes in two NCAA Tournament matchups all-time, claiming the win in both games.

Senior Alexa Collins recorded her first career brace, scoring Massachusetts' first two goals of the afternoon on a pair of well-placed deflections. The Limerick, Pennsylvania native set a new single-season career high with three goals on the year.

Freshman Lina Kroeger and sophomore Cara Falconer each tallied their first goals of the season in the matchup. Senior Gabrielle Benkenstein now sits third on the team in points after dishing out a pair of assists on the afternoon.

Senior Myrte van Herwijnen recorded her fourth clean sheet of the season, totaling seven saves including three in the fourth quarter. The Huizen, The Netherlands native currently sits second nationally in total shutouts behind Northwestern's Juliana Boon with five.

The Golden Flashes were led by Floortje van Eijden who recorded seven saves.

Breaking Down The Action

Massachusetts opened the scoring as Alexa Collins tipped home a pass from Sophia Ponzini with 2:25 remaining in the first quarter.
The second quarter was a stalemate with neither team recording a shot and score remaining 1-0 in favor of the Minutewomen.
Collins put home her second goal of the game, deflecting in an assist from Gabrielle Benkenstein with 8:33 to play in the third quarter.
Lina Kroeger converted a penalty corner for her first career goal, giving the Minutewomen a 3-0 advantage with 4:26 left in the third.
Cara Falconer capped the third quarter with her first goal of the season, generating a 4-0 UMass lead with 2:38 remaining in the period.
Myrte van Herwijnen withstood late pressure from the Golden Flashes, making three saves in the final 15 minutes of play.
The final whistle sounded with the score 4-0 in favor of the Minutewomen.

Notable Numbers

1: Kroeger recorded her first career goal as a Minutewomen.
1: Falconer tallied a goal and an assist on the afternoon.
1: Sophia Ponzini recorded her first point in the maroon and white.
2: Benkenstein dished out a pair of assists in the matchup.
3: Massachusetts held Kent State to just three penalty corners on the evening.
5: The Minutewomen drew five penalty corners on the afternoon.
7: Massachusetts improved to 7-0 on the 2025 season.
19: The Minutewomen tallied 19 shots in the contest, 13 on goal.

Series History

With the win, Massachusetts now holds a 3-1-0 record all-time against the Golden Flashes.
Massachusetts last faced Kent State on Nov. 11, 2015 claiming a 1-0 win in an NCAA Play-In matchup.

Up Next

The Minutewomen remain in Amherst, hosting UAlbany on Sunday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. at Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and can be followed live on umassathletics.com or UMassFH on Twitter.

Scoreboard

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Team Stats

Alexa Collins

Cara Falconer

Lina Kroeger

Gabrielle Benkenstein

Players Mentioned

Gabrielle Benkenstein

Alexa Collins

Cara Falconer

Lina Kroeger

Sophia Ponzini

Players Mentioned

Gabrielle Benkenstein

Alexa Collins

Cara Falconer

Lina Kroeger

Sophia Ponzini

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics