Ball State University
Miami
Soccer Knocked Out Of MAC Tournament by Miami, 2-1
October 29, 2006 | Soccer
MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State soccer team saw its Mid-American Conference Tournament run come to an end on Sunday afternoon in the quarterfinals as the top seeded Cardinals dropped a 2-1 decision to eighth seeded Miami at the BSU Soccer Field. The loss drops the Cardinals to
"We just weren't able to finish in the final third today," first-year head coach Michelle Salmon said. "We had numerous chances as we dominated play in the second half but just couldn't convert on our pressure."
The Cardinals out-shot the RedHawks 23-11 in the game and controlled the play in the second half as they out-shot Miami 16-7 in the half. BSU was held in check by Miami goalkeeper Krista Pace who tallied a game-high 11 saves.
Miami opened the scoring in the first half off of a corner kick in the 17th minute. Katie Boyd took the corner kick and drove a ball into the box where Jodi Zwingelberg got a head on it and pushed it past BSU goalkeeper Rachael Murphy for the 1-0 lead.
The Cardinals came out in the second half with the wind and dominated play in the offensive end. Ball State was unable to get over the hump and notch a goal, despite its early pressure. Miami took advantage of the BSU pressure and induced a free kick off of a counter attack. Boyd took the free kick and got a shot on goal that Murphy saved but the rebound fell to the feet of Zwingelberg who found the back of the net for a 2-0 Miami lead.
Ball State continued to put the pressure on the RedHawks despite the two-goal deficit. Pace came through with a strong save in the 69th minute as she got a hand on a shot that looked to be a sure goal by BSU forward Sarah Leibel and pushed the ball over the cross bar.
The Cardinals finally broke through with a goal in the 86th minute of play as Annie Aiello took a free kick from outside the box and found forward Emily Rein on the run. Rein was able to head the ball past the diving Pace to narrow the BSU deficit to, 2-1.
The Cardinals generated a couple more chances in the final minutes but where unable to tie the game before the end of regulation. Aiello had the Cardinals' last chance but her shot from the top of the box was saved by Pace to seal the Miami victory.
The loss knocks the Cardinals out of the MAC Tournament for the third straight season in the quarterfinals. The Cardinals' 13 victories are the third most in a single season in Ball State history as BSU won its first ever MAC regular season title.
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