Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Toledo
Soccer Drops Heartbreaker To Toledo In Final Second
October 04, 2009 | Soccer
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State soccer team suffered a last second defeat Sunday afternoon as the Cardinals fell 4-3 to three-time Mid-American Conference Tournament champion Toledo at the BSU Soccer Field. The Cardinals opened the game with three unanswered goals to take an early lead, but the Rockets closed the game with four straight goals, including the game-winning goal with just one second left on the clock.
"Today was a tale of two halves," head coach Michael Lovett said. "We came out strong and dictated play early but for whatever reason we lost our concentration. We were a completely different team in the second half and Toledo took advantage and played with more urgency."
Ball State (4-7-0, 2-2-0 MAC) started quickly as it opened the scoring in the eighth minute of play. Junior defender Kristina Anderson (Hamilton, Ohio/Badin) broke down the right side and sent a cross into the box. Senior midfielder Megan Ridley (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) was able to beat two Toledo defenders to the ball and one-touched the cross past UT goalkeeper Vicki Traven for her team-leading fourth goal of the year.
The Cardinals kept the early pressure on and took a two-goal lead just 1:41 later as Ridley found junior forward Missy Gordon (Carmel, Ind./Marshall Univ.) in space. Gordon found an opening and ripped a shot from 15-yards out into the top corner past Traven for her first career goal with the Cardinals.
Toledo (6-4-2, 2-1-1 MAC) responded to the early pressure as it came within inches of narrowing the gap to one goal in the 15th minute. UT forward Ali Leak got behind the Cardinals' defense and was in alone against freshman goalkeeper Nicole Wood (Strongsville, Ohio/Strongsville). Wood was able to stand tall and stone Leak on the breakaway to keep the Cardinals ahead by two.
Ball State took a 3-0 lead in the 39th minute as junior forward Jacki Eft (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) sent a cross into the box. Freshman forward Maggie Brown (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) ran onto the cross and blasted it into the net on her first touch for her second career goal.
Toledo got a huge boost just before halftime as it finally beat Wood in the 41st minute. Wood made an initial save on Kristen Lynn's shot, but Heather Wesley was able to poke the loose ball into the back of the net to narrow the gap to 3-1.
The Rockets came out of the halftime break and controlled play in the second half as they held a 21-3 shot advantage in the second half and a 33-11 edge for the game. Leak was the primary attacker for the Rockets as she got behind the Cardinals' defense on a couple of occasions. Wood was able to stop her on a breakaway in the 54th minute but Leak scored off of a corner kick in the 55th minute.
Once again, Wood came up with a huge save on a breakaway in the 56th minute against Leak, but Leak finally solved Wood on a breakaway in the 65th minute for the game-tying goal.
The game looked destined for overtime as the Cardinals were holding on until the final minute. The Rockets threw the ball in with 10 seconds left and passes by Lynn and Leak set up reigning MAC Player of the Year Molly Cornwell from five-yards out. Cornwell was able to blast a shot past Wood at the 89:59 mark of the game for the game-winning tally.
Wood suffered the loss for the Cardinals despite playing her best game as a collegian. She posted a career-high 12 saves in the loss, including a handful of saves on breakaway situations. Craven picked up the victory as she made three saves for the Rockets.
Ball State returns to action next weekend as it travels to the state of Michigan for a pair of games. The Cardinals will meet MAC-leading Central Michigan Friday afternoon and Eastern Michigan Sunday.
####
