Ball State University
Ohio State
Cards Score Early In Field Hockey Win Over Ohio State
September 18, 2007 | Field Hockey
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State field hockey team scored a pair of early goals Tuesday against Ohio State and held off the Buckeyes down the stretch for a 2-1 victory.
Junior forward Casey Hunsicker and sophomore forward Brooke MacGillivary each notched their fourth goal of the season in the win. Not only did the duo score both Ball State goals, but they also provided both assists, with each setting up the other for a score.
Hunsicker wasted no time in scoring the game's first goal when she took a centering pass from MacGillivary and found herself one-on-one with Ohio State goalkeeper Ali Ristas. The Cardinal junior won the individual battle to give Ball State a 1-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
Hunsicker then returned the favor later in the first half when she found MacGillivary with a touch pass in front of the cage. MacGillivary fired a shot in heavy traffic that found the goal to extend the Cardinals' lead to 2-0 in the 15th minute.
The two early goals proved to be all Ball State would need. The Cardinal defense put the clamps on Ohio State -- which entered the game receiving votes in the STX/NFHCA Poll -- to preserve the win.
The Buckeyes scored their only goal on a penalty corner late in the first half when Linda Haussener weaved through Ball State defenders and fired a shot past Cardinal goalkeeper Tiffany Shifflett.
Shifflett, however, stopped seven of the eight shots she faced in the game, including all five shots she saw in the second half.
Ohio State (3-6) spent much of the second half on the offensive end of the field, attacking and looking for the game-tying goal. The Buckeyes managed seven shots over the final ten minutes but could not score the equalizer.
Ball State (2-6) was able to fight off two Ohio State penalty corners in the last minute to earn the win. Shifflett saved a shot by Haussener at the 69:16 mark on the first penalty corner, and Ohio State's Aisling McKeon sailed a shot wide at the 69:50 mark on the Buckeyes' final opportunity.
With the victory, Ball State snapped a six-game losing streak. The Cardinals -- who played their final non-conference game Tuesday -- will return to Mid-American Conference play this weekend with a pair of home games. Ball State will host 11th-ranked Ohio on Saturday and Kent State on Sunday. Both games are schedule for 1 p.m.
