MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State soccer team picked up its first win since 2001 over perennial Mid-American Conference power Central Michigan as the Cardinals used an inspired second half performance to down the Chippewas, 1-0 on Friday afternoon at BSU Soccer Field. The victory gives the Cardinals a 1-0-0 record in MAC action and evens their overall mark to 4-4-0.
“Today was a tremendous team victory,” second-year head coach Michelle Salmon said. “Each and every player on our team played a huge part in the victory. Our bench was awesome in the second half and the atmosphere they generating, along with the band, was inspiring. This is a great win for our team and a great opening to conference play.”
The Cardinals and Chippewas battled back and forth during the first half as each team was getting the feel for the run of play. Ball State held a slight advantage on the offensive end in the opening frame with a 5-3 shot advantage. Senior forward Sarah Leibel (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) had the best chance of the half in the 20th minute as she rifled a shot from 15-yards out that CMU goalkeeper Shay Mannino was able to punch over the cross bar.
The Cardinals came out of the halftime break as a team on a mission. From the opening kick, every BSU player on the team was vocal for the Cardinals. Ball State used the momentum from the bench and the crowd to pepper the CMU defense with opportunities. The Cardinals recorded the first six shots of the half in the opening 15 minutes of play and finished with a 17-6 advantage for the game.
Ball State took advantage of opportunities off of its pressure attack as senior defender Lindsay Martin (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) had an opportunity go wide off of a corner kick in the 58th minute. The Cardinals relentlessly attacked and were rewarded with another strong chance in the 61st minute. Junior midfielder Annie Aiello (Granger, Ind./Penn) stepped onto a loose ball just in the 18-yard box and blasted a shot that Mannino had to make a sprawling save to send the ball wide.
The Cardinals' picked up a big save from junior goalkeeper Rachael Murphy (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) in the 62nd minute as Kristen Pelkki got a shot off from 15 yards out. Murphy quickly started the Cardinal counter attack that led to the only goal of the game in the 63rd minute.
The Cardinals moved the ball down the field and found Leibel towards the end line. She was able to maneuver around a CMU defender and put the ball back into the center of the box where she found an on-charging Emily Rein (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills). Rein took the pass and rocketed a shot past Mannino and into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
The Cardinals defense dominated play throughout the game as it limited Central Michigan, who led the MAC in shots per game (17.5), to just six shots on the afternoon. The Cardinals thwarted another CMU attack in the 65th minute as All-MAC forward Stephanie Martin got a shot off from 18-yards out but Murphy was able to snag the ball to preserve the shutout.
“Our team played great defense today,” Salmon said. “In the second half we really elevated our play and our entire team played with an unrivaled passion.”
Ball State had a couple more opportunities for an insurance goal as Leibel was all over the attacking zone looking for the Cardinals' second goal. Leibel had a header in the 68th minute that Mannino was able to dive and punch over the cross bar. She was robbed in the 75th minute of a goal as Mannino came through with a sprawling kick save on a shot from eight yards out.
Murphy finished the afternoon with two saves as she recorded her second straight shutout of the season and the ninth of her career. Mannino kept the Chippewas close throughout the game as she registered 10 saves in the loss.
The victory improves the Cardinals to 2-7-1 all-time against Central Michigan (4-4-0, 0-1-0 MAC) and is the first win over CMU since the 2001 season. The Cardinals also have avenged one of their two MAC losses from last season's regular season MAC championship season. Ball State improves to 6-2-1 in MAC openers and is undefeated over the past seven seasons in conference openers.
The Cardinals will continue their MAC opening weekend on Sunday afternoon as they host Eastern Michigan. Game time is 1 p.m. at the BSU Soccer Field. The Cardinals will also have a ring ceremony following the game to commemorate the 2006 MAC championship. Admission, as always, is FREE to Ball State Soccer games.
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