MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State soccer team, fresh off of it's first ever Mid-American Conference regular season title, picked up where it left off last fall as the Cardinals opened their spring season with a 3-0 victory over IUPUI Saturday at the BSU Soccer Field.
The Cardinals and Jaguars opened play with a scoreless first half as each team was playing in its first contest of the 2007 spring season. The Cardinals broke open the game in the second half with three unanswered goals as they dominated play on both ends of the field.
Forward Sarah Leibel (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) kicked off the scoring in the second half with a strong individual effort on the left side of the box as she beat two defenders before lofting a cross towards the far post. Fellow striker Sarah Schumacker (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield) found an opening in the defense and one touched the cross into the back of the net for the first goal of the spring.
The Cardinals capitalized on a set piece inside the box for their second goal of the afternoon. Defender Lindsey Martin (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) took the free kick and sent a cross to the far post. Leibel ran onto the cross and sent a strong header past the IUPUI goalkeeper for a two-goal lead.
Ball State rounded out the scoring as midfielders Megan Ridley (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) and Annie Aiello (Granger, Ind./Penn) combined for a stellar play from 25-yards out. Ridley fought off a pair of IUPUI defenders and was able to slip a pass into the path of the on-charging Aiello. She rocketed the ball off of the first touch past the Jaguar goalkeeper from 25-yards out to give the Cardinals' their third goal of the afternoon.
The Cardinals were strong on the defensive end as well as they did not allow an IUPUI shot on goal the entire game and dominated play throughout the contest.
Ball State will continue its spring schedule this weekend as it hits the road for a pair of games against regional foes. The Cardinals will face off against Dayton on Friday night at 7 p.m. and will take on instate foe Butler Saturday evening at 5 p.m. in Indianapolis.
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