Ball State University
Central Michigan
Field Hockey Closes Home Slate With Win Over CMU
October 21, 2007 | Field Hockey
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State field hockey team rallied at home Sunday to knock of Central Michigan 2-1 in a Mid-American Conference contest at BSU Turf Field.
Amanda Pavone and Jamie Kahn -- two seniors playing in their final home game -- provided the scoring for Ball State as the Cardinals turned a one-goal second-half deficit into a one-goal win.
Sunday's first half was characterized by defense as Ball State and Central Michigan battled to a 0-0 tie. The teams combined for 12 shots in the opening half, but each goalkeeper logged four saves, and Ball State senior defender Nicole Humphreys added a defensive save.
The defensive struggle quickly gave way to offense, though, in the second half when Central Michigan's Kelly Jordan scored in the 38th minute off an assist from Samantha Sandham to give the Chippewas a 1-0 lead.
Ball State quickly responded with Pavone's goal at the 41:38 mark to even the score again. On a penalty corner, Jodi Mann took the entry pass from Melanie Pasillas and fired the ball to Pavone, who found the left side of the cage for her third goal of the season.
The Cardinals' next goal gave them the lead for good. In the 54th minute, on another penalty corner, Kahn found an opening off a pass from Katie Kloeckener and put the ball into the cage to give Ball State a 2-1 advantage. It was the second goal of the season for Kahn and the team-leading sixth assist of the year for Kloeckener, a fellow senior.
For the game, Central Michigan attempted 11 shots to Ball State's nine and eight penalty corners to the Cardinals' seven.
Ball State goalkeeper Tiffany Shifflett stopped six shots on the day. She now owns 140 saves on the season, the fifth-highest single-season total in school history.
With the win, Ball State improves to 5-11 (3-6 MAC) while Central Michigan drops to 5-11 (4-4 MAC). The teams split the season series with each squad winning on its home field.
The Cardinals will close out their regular season next Sunday at Missouri State before heading to Oxford, Ohio, for the MAC Tournament the following week.
