Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Western Michigan
Ridley And Cleeter Lead Soccer To 1-1 Tie Against WMU
October 25, 2009 | Soccer
MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State soccer seniors Megan Ridley (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) and Amy Cleeter (Aurora, Ind./South Dearborn) turned in strong performances on senior day to guide the Cardinals to a 1-1 double overtime tie against Mid-American Conference foe Western Michigan Sunday afternoon at the BSU Soccer Field.
Ridley, a team tri-captain, scored the Cardinals' lone goal of the game as she found the back of the net in the 89th minute of play to force the game into overtime. The goal was her team-leading fifth of the season and moved her into sole possession of seventh all-time in BSU history in goals scored with 11. Cleeter was strong in goal for the Cardinals as she posted a career-high seven saves in 110 minutes of action.
"Today we turned in a strong effort and our team showed a lot of fight for our seniors," head coach Michael Lovett said. "We showed a strong will in the second half as we rallied from down a goal to tie the game and send it into overtime. It is only fitting that Ridley scored the game-tying goal on senior day as we did not want to leave the field trailing."
The Cardinals (4-12-1, 2-7-1 MAC) battled back and forth with the Broncos all game long as the evenly matched contest saw WMU hold a slim 16-12 lead in shots. Western Michigan was able to open the scoring in the 38th minute as Caitlin Henderson struck a perfectly placed bending shot into the far corner from 25-yards out past Cleeter for the 1-0 WMU lead.
Ball State came out in the second half and controlled the tempo as it battled for the game-tying goal. Junior forward Missy Gordon (Carmel, Ind./Marshall Univ.) was the driving force offensively as she registered a game-high seven shots but could not get the ball past WMU goalkeeper Sarah Phillips.
The Cardinals' aggressive played finally paid off when they had less than two minutes of regulation time left. Freshman forward Paige Stroinski (Granger, Ind./Penn) made a run down the right side and sent a cross into the box. Gordon was able to one-touch a pass to the top of the 18-yard box where Ridley ran onto the ball and blasted a shot to the bottom right corner past Phillips for the game-tying goal.
Western Michigan (6-7-4, 3-3-2 MAC) had an early chance in the first overtime period as Megan Matula got behind the Cardinals' defense in the 93rd minute but Cleeter came up huge as she stoned Matula one-on-one. Ball State's best chance came in the closing seconds of the first overtime period as Stroinski once again sent a cross into the box that fell just short of Ridley as a Bronco defender was able to clear the ball out.
The Cardinals had one final chance for the game-winning goal in the 109th minute as Gordon beat a WMU defender to gain space and ripped a shot from 20-yards out that sailed just inches over the cross bar after getting past Phillips.
With the loss, Ball State has been eliminated from the 2009 MAC Tournament as it has seven points on the year with one game remaining. The Cardinals will wrap up the 2009 season Thursday afternoon as they travel to arch rival Miami for a 3 p.m. contest.
####
