Jimena Perez Ayala scores second-half equalizer vs Kent State in 1-1 draw
Central Michigan junior defender Olivia Bretz, left, high-fives freshman forward Jimena Perez Ayala, right, after Perez Ayala's penalty kick goal during the second half of the game against Kent State, at the CMU Soccer Complex, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (CMLife | Alivia Cranick)
Central Michigan Women’s Soccer drew with Kent State 1-1 at home on Thursday at the CMU Soccer Complex. With 150 people in attendance, many of the children were wearing pink for the breast cancer awareness event.
“I’m proud of that fight today,” said Central Michigan Soccer Head Coach Jeremy Groves on CMU's match against Kent State today. “It steps in the right direction.”
Early in the game, the Chippewas were down a goal, a situation they have faced many times this season. Groves discussed how often this scenario occurs and how they handle it.
“This has been happening all year, where we’ve been close, losing 1-0,” he said. “When we’re losing 1-0, we have to open up and try and chase the goal, which then, we’re vulnerable at the back.”
Kent State was third in the Mid-American Conference going into the game. However, Groves was confident that his team could make something happen.
"Any team on any day, in our conference, can beat anybody," he said.
This game had the same feel as the previous games, where the Chippewas ultimately end up short. Until, in the 60th minute, freshman midfielder Sofia Spano received the ball in the penalty box from sophomore forward Ella Betzold, and was tripped up by a KSU defender, drawing a penalty.
“It was a really great moment,” Spano said. “I knew we had an amazing opportunity to score, and I knew that Jimena was going to take it.”
Jimena Perez Ayala, a freshman forward, set the kick and sent the keeper the wrong way to score her second goal of the season.
“I’m really sure of my shots,” Perez Ayala said. “I knew it was going in the back of the net.”
This was the first penalty-kick made by a Chippewa since 2022.
CMU starts its last road trip in Oxford, Ohio, to face the Miami Redhawks on Sunday at 1 p.m.
