Soccer Battles By Florida Atlantic, 2-1

Friday, September 7

Boca Raton, Fla.

7:30 p.m.

Ball State University

Florida Atlantic

Soccer Exhibition Postponed Until Sunday At 1 p.m.

September 08, 2007 | Soccer

By: Ball State Athletics

BOCA RATON, Fla. ? The Ball State soccer team took home a hard fought 2-1 victory over hosting Florida Atlantic on Friday night on the first day of the FAU Classic. The Cardinals overcame being out-shot 11-4 as they registered two second half goals to secure the strong out of region victory.

“Tonight was a tremendous team effort,” head coach Michelle Salmon said. “We had so many players step up and play a variety of positions for us tonight. We came together as a team and elevated our game when Murphy (Rachael) went down as we played an inspired second half.”

The two teams battled back and forth during the first half as most of the half was played between the 18-yard lines. The Cardinals posted two shots in the opening frame, including a chance from 18-yards out by junior midfielder Katelyn Alexander (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) in the 41^st minute.

Junior goalkeeper Rachael Murphy (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) played the first 37-plus minutes and recorded one save before leaving the game due to a on-field collision. Sophomore goalkeeper Amy Cleeter (Aurora, Ind./South Dearborn) came on in relief for the final seven-plus minutes of the half and all of the second half for the Cardinals.

Ball State came out of the second half with a sense of urgency as they attacked from the opening kick. Senior forward Sarah Leibel (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) made a run into the box and was pulled down in the box by the FAU defender for a Ball State penalty kick.

Junior defender Annie Aiello (Granger, Ind./Penn) stepped up for the Cardinals and blasted it into the corner of the net for a 1-0 BSU lead. The penalty kick goal is the first for the Cardinals this season and the first since Megan Ridley (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) converted an opportunity against Kent State last season.

The Cardinals continued to attack and their aggression paid dividends in the 58^th minute. Ball State combined in the attacking zone where Alexander was able to find freshman forward Kristina Anderson (Hamilton, Ohio/Badin) on the far side of the 18-yard box. Anderson broke free and ripped a bending shot from outside the 18-yard box and into the opposite corner past the diving FAU goalkeeper Jessica Badders for a 2-0 Ball State lead.

“Kristina was one of the many players that stepped up tonight,” Salmon said. “She scored one of the best goals that I have ever seen tonight.”

Florida Atlantic responded to the deficit in the 69^th minute as it took advantage of a set piece from just inside the midline. Michele Fazzari took the set piece and sent it into the 18-yard box where Allyssa Eramo was able to flick it past Cleeter to narrow the BSU lead to 2-1.

Cleeter came up big for the Cardinals down the stretch in the second half as she registered her first save of the game in the 76^th minute. Florida Atlantic received a free kick from 30 yards out that its leading scorer Susanna Lehtinen lined up over. Lehtinen ripped a shot over the BSU wall but Cleeter was position correctly for the key save to preserve the one goal lead. The Cardinals slammed the door shut down the stretch as they play an inspired team defense to keep the Owls from tying the game.

The Cardinals will continue their run in the FAU Classic on Sunday morning as they take on 2006 NCAA Tournament participant UNC-Greensboro at 11 a.m.

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