Ball State University
Ohio
Field Hockey Falls One Goal Short In Loss At Ohio
October 13, 2007 | Field Hockey
ATHENS, Ohio -- For the second time this season, the Ball State field hockey team fell one goal short of knocking off the top team in the Mid-American Conference.
The Cardinals dropped a 4-3 decision on the road Friday at 15th-ranked Ohio. Earlier this season, Ball State fell to the Bobcats at home by the same score in an overtime contest.
In Friday's game, sophomore forward Brooke MacGillivary notched two goals and an assist as Ball State built a 3-2 lead through the first half.
MacGillivary picked up the assist first, finding Casey Hunsicker at the 2:10 mark to equalize an Ohio goal one minute earlier off the stick of Rachelle Coetzee. The goal was the fifth of the season for Hunsicker.
Coetzee then responded for Ohio at the 4:38 mark, scoring her second goal of the day and giving Ball State and Ohio a combined three goals in the first five minutes of play.
The scoring then calmed down until the 21st minute when MacGillivary scored her first goal off an assist from Lauren Cruz to even the score at 2-2. The assist was the fifth of the season for Cruz, who leads the Cardinals in that category.
The score remained tied until the final minute of the first half, when MacGillivary scored her second goal of the game -- this time off an assist from Katie Kloeckener -- as the Cardinals took a 3-2 lead into halftime.
After a three-goal performance in the first half, however, Ball State could not manage a score in the second half. Ohio out-shot the Cardinals 9-1 in the second half as Torrie Albini led the Bobcat comeback.
Albini scored an unassisted goal in the 43rd minute to tie the game at 3-3. She then scored again on a penalty corner at the 55:10 mark to give Ohio a lead it would not lose.
MacGillivary and Ohio's Marcy Dull each logged a game-high four shots. MacGillivary now owns a team-best 10 goals on the season. She came up one goal shy of her second straight hat trick after scoring three goals last Sunday against Missouri State.
Ball State goalkeeper Tiffany Shifflett made nine saves in the loss.
Ball State dropped to 3-10 (1-5 MAC) with the loss, while Ohio improved to 11-4 (5-1 MAC). The Cardinals now travel to Kent State to finish off their weekend road trip with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.
