Ball State University
Central Michigan (No. 4 seed)
Field Hockey Suffers Close Loss In MAC Tournament
November 01, 2007 | Field Hockey
OXFORD, Ohio -- In a defensive struggle Thursday, the Ball State field hockey team fell 1-0 to Central Michigan in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
Despite a deficit in shot attempts, the fifth-seeded Cardinals played even with fourth-seeded Central Michigan until midway though the second half.
The teams battled to a scoreless tie through the first half. Central Michigan logged 11 shots to Ball State's five and seven penalty corner chances to the Cardinals' three, but the Ball State defense held strong. Cardinal goalkeeper Tiffany Shifflett tallied four saves in the opening half.
The game remained scoreless until a 49th minute penalty corner. Central Michigan's Kim Erasmus fired a shot from just right of the top of the circle and snuck the ball just inside the left post to give the Chippewas a 1-0 lead.
The goal proved to be the only one either team could score. Ball State went on the attack late in the second half in an attempt to draw even, but Central Michigan goalkeeper Louise Gericke held strong to deny the Cardinals on their scoring chances. Gericke finished with seven saves.
Shifflett totaled seven saves for Ball State, as well. In doing so, she reached 149 for the season, moving into a tie for fourth place on Ball State's all-time single-season saves list.
Brooke MacGillivary led the Cardinals' offensive attack Thursday with three shots. Jodi Mann, Katie Kloeckener and Amanda Pavone each logged two. Central Michigan finished the game with a 27-10 advantage in shots and a 16-4 edge in penalty corner chances.
With the loss, Ball State wraps up its season at 5-13. Central Michigan improves to 6-13 with the win and moves into a semifinal contest Friday against top-seeded Ohio.
