Ball State University
Kent State
Field Hockey Falls Late In Heartbreaker Against Kent State 3-2
October 11, 2009 | Field Hockey
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State field hockey team suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Kent State 1 p.m. Sunday. The Cardinals held a 2-0 lead at the half, but ultimately gave up three unanswered goals to the Golden Flashes' Debbie Bell. Kent State remains undefeated in the Mid-American conference with five wins.
Ball State kept the pressure on Kent State, controlling the ball in the Golden Flashes' territory for the majority of the first period. Ball State's defense forced Kent State to miss lots of scoring opportunities off fast breaks as well.
With nearly 11 minutes remaining in the first, Gretchen Lulow was able to score for the Cardinals off a penalty corner after she deflected Morgan Cloutier's shot into the net. The goal also gave Ball State the lead for the first time since the win against Missouri State three games ago. The Cardinals kept their momentum and added a second goal minutes later on a cross from the right side by Lulow to Caitlin Maguire for the score. Ball State maintained the 2-0 advantage into halftime.
However, Kent State wasted no time at the start of the second period, scoring in just under four minutes on a deflection by Bell. The momentum shifted in favor of Kent State as the Golden Flashes continued to log 18 shots in the second period alone. They totaled 26 on the day to Ball State's nine. Both teams battled back and forth over the next 20 minutes. A shot by Kuhn just missed the inside corner of the cage that could have increased Ball State's lead. Instead, Bell found a second goal off a penalty corner opportunity that tied the game 2-2. The Cardinals had no penalty corner opportunities in the second period.
Kent State continued firing shots and eventually took the lead for the first time with ten minutes remaining as Bell earned her third goal. However, two minutes later Bell was given a yellow card. The penalty gave Ball State a "power play" type advantage as Bell sat on the sidelines. But the Cardinals ran out of time before they could tie the score back up and eventually fell one goal short to the Golden Flashes.
Tiffany Shifflett made a season-high 13 saves on the day. She now has 93 saves this season, which moves her to fourth on the all-time career saves list.
UP NEXT: Ball State (3-10, 1-4 in conference) closes out its home stretch against Central Michigan and Longwood for a weekend matchup. The meeting with the Chippewas begins 3 p.m. Friday, October 16. Two days later, seniors Brooke MacGillivary and Tiffany Shifflett's play in their last home game at the BSU Turf Field as the team celebrates Senior Day against the Lancers 1 p.m. Sunday, October 18.
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