VALPARAISO, Ind. ? The Ball State soccer team opened the 2008 regular season with a 1-0 loss at instate foe Valparaiso on Friday evening at Eastgate Field. The loss snaps the Cardinals' four-game winning streak in season openers and drops the Cardinals to 7-3 all-time in opening games.
“We came out at the start with a lot of energy but we got lost in some of our assignments later in the first half,” first-year head coach Michael Lovett said. “We were much improved in the second half and had Valpo on the defensive, but we weren't able to find the back of the net.”
The Cardinals started slowly in the first half against Valparaiso as the Crusaders out-shot BSU 4-1 in the opening frame. Valpo came close to scoring in the ninth minute off of a corner kick as Jessie White sent a shot to the near post but Cardinals goalkeeper Rachael Murphy (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) made a sprawling save to stymie the chance.
The Cardinals' defense came up big in the 28th minute off of a Valparaiso corner kick. Jackie Thomas sent a shot from 10 yards out to the near post where Ball State senior Bailey Decker (Granger, Ind./Penn) made a team save off of the line with a clearing header.
Ball State registered its first shot of the game in the 29th minute off of a corner kick. Sophomore Kristina Anderson (Fairfield, Ohio/Badin) drove the ball into the box where it found the head of defender Tina Vannatta (Powhatan, Va./Springboro) who sent a shot on goal but Valpo goalkeeper Mele Cabral was there for the save.
The Cardinals came out in the second half and saw a couple of early chances stopped by Cabral. In the 48th minute, freshman midfielder Sarah Orisich (Columbus, Ind./Columbus) found a charging Anderson with a pass at the top of the 18-yard box. Anderson got off of strong shot that Cabral was able to save to keep the game scoreless.
Ball State came close to finding goal in the 57th minute as senior midfielder Annie Aiello (Granger, Ind./Penn) found Decker 15 yards out. Decker got off a low shot that Cabral was able to stop.
Valparaiso (1-0-0) broke the scoreless game in the 71st minute as the Crusaders sent a cross into the box. The Cardinals had an errant clearing attempt that found the foot of Valpo midfielder Jackie Kondratko. Kondratko sent a shot into the far corner past a diving Amy Cleeter (Aurora, Ind./South Dearborn) for the game's only goal.
Valparaiso finished the game with a 7-5 advantage in shots and a 6-2 advantage on corner kicks. The Cardinals are now 1-3 all-time against the Crusaders, including 0-2 record on the road.
“Obviously, we wanted to get a positive result but once Valpo scored, we had the wind knocked out of our sails and had to chase the rest of the game,” Lovett said. “We will learn from this game and move our focus on to our next opponent, Oklahoma.”
The Cardinals will be back in action next weekend when they travel to Big 12 member Oklahoma on Sunday, August 31. Game time is set for 1 p.m. (CT) in Norman, Okla.
####
