Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Florida Atlantic
Soccer Drops 3-0 Decision At Florida Atlantic
August 30, 2009 | Soccer
BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Ball State soccer team suffered its second straight loss in the Sunshine State as the Cardinals suffered a 3-0 defeat at Florida Atlantic Sunday afternoon. The loss drops BSU to 0-2-0 on the season while the Owls improve to 1-2-0 on the young campaign.
"This was a tough weekend for our team," head coach Michael Lovett said. "We came out strong once again but then fell into a rut midway through the first half and got into a hole. We made some adjustments in the second half on defense and played better. We played hard and had our chances offensively today. We hit the post, hit the cross bar but just couldn't find the back of the net and Florida Atlantic was able to do that, which was the difference in the game."
The two teams battled back and forth for much of the first half with both teams getting scoring opportunities. The Cardinals best chance came in the 13th minute off of a corner kick when freshman defender Brigit Reder (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) sent a header just over the cross bar.
Florida Atlantic opened the scoring in the 37th minute as Ashley Mannarino got behind the Cardinals' defense and beat senior goalkeeper Amy Cleeter (Aurora, Ind./South Dearborn) into the left corner. Mannarino was involved in the second goal in the 40th minute as she found Breanna Lewis with a pass inside the box for the 2-0 lead.
Coming out of the locker room at half time, Ball State regrouped but was stymied when FAU was awarded a penalty kick in the 48th minute that Mannarino converted for her second goal of the contest.
The Cardinals came within inches of finding the back of the net in the 80th minute as freshman forward Paige Stroinski (Granger, Ind./Penn) beat FAU goalkeeper Ashley Lantes but hit the post behind her. Lantes finished the game with five saves in the shutout while Cleeter posted six saves in the loss.
Ball State finished the contest tied with the Owls in shots at 19 apiece with junior forward Missy Gordon (Carmel, Ind./Marshall) leading the way with four shots. The loss evens the all-time series between the Cardinals and the Owls. Ball State claimed a 2-1 victory over Florida Atlantic in 2007 in the first ever meeting and trip to the state of Florida.
The Cardinals return to action Thursday evening as they take on instate rival Valparaiso in West Lafayette, Ind. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. against the Crusaders. Last season, Ball State dropped a 1-0 decision at Valparaiso to open the year.
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