Ball State University
Northern Illinois
Leibel's Goal Lifts Soccer To 1-0 Victory At Northern Illinois
October 20, 2006 | Soccer
DeKalb, Ill. ? The Ball State soccer team opened its final road weekend of the regular season in strong fashion as the Cardinals picked up a 1-0 victory at Northern Illinois on Friday afternoon in Mid-American Conference action. The victory improves BSU to 11-3-3 on the season overall and keeps the Cardinals on top of the MAC with a 6-2-1 record with only two conference games remaining on the year.
"We played very well in the first half and were very dynamic in the offensive end," head coach Michelle Salmon said. "In the second half we defended unbelievably as a team to counter strong play from NIU and Murph (Rachael Murphy) managed the game perfectly to preserve the victory."
The Cardinals got all the scoring they would need early in the first half courtesy of junior forward Sarah Leibel's stellar individual effort in the 17th minute. Leibel took a pass from 20-yards out, made a couple of moves against NIU defenders to create space and blasted a left-footed shot into the back of the net past the diving goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead.
The goal was the second game-winning goal of the season for Leibel as she notched the deciding goal against Xavier earlier this season. She now is tied for third on the team in scoring with four goals this season.
Northern Illinois (
The victory for the Cardinals is their fourth win in the last five meetings against Northern Illinois. The win also ties the Cardinals for the fourth most wins in a single season at 11, matching the mark set in 2003.
The Cardinals will wrap up the road portion of the 2006 regular season on Sunday afternoon as they travel to Kalamazoo, Mich. to take on Western Michigan in a MAC contest. Game time is set for
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