Ball State University Athletics
Field Hockey Begins 2012 Campaign With a Win
August 25, 2012 | Field Hockey
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Ball State field hockey team got the 2012 campaign off to an exciting start with a 4-3 overtime victory over Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa. Sophomore midfielder Tori Widrick (Cazenovia, N.Y./Cazenovia) scored three goals for the Cardinals, while classmate Leanne Goldblatt (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) netted the winning goal in overtime, her first collegiate goal.
"The team fought hard today," said head coach Beth Maddox. "They played together and because of that we were able to come up with a win. This is a great way to start our season."
Widrick got the Cardinals on the board early at the 4:54 mark, getting a pass from sophomore defender Jenna Rosenberry (Maheim, Pa./Elizabethtown Area). Widrick connected with red-shirt freshman midfielder Bianca Velez (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam) at 18:22 off of a penalty corner to put Ball State up 2-0.
The Mountain Hawks (0-1) would get on the board before the first period was over with Erin Ricker putting in a goal off of a penalty corner at 23:49. Lehigh scored at the 43:48 mark when Rachel Werley found the back of the net off an assist from Kimberly Eng.
The score remained, 2-1 until Lehigh's Werley put in a goal at 43:48. The Mountain Hawks took a 3-2 lead at 62:33 when Eng was fed from Steph Fratoni.
The Cardinals responded quickly, with Widrick getting a goal off of a rebound 75 seconds later to knot the score at 3-3.
Ball State came out victorious in the sudden-death overtime as Velez was able to get a hard shot in to Goldblatt who was able to tip it in for the first win of the 2012 season.
Widrick finished the day with six shots and three goals. Freshman forward Allie White (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) was active offensively, getting five shots off. Velez had two shots and had her hand in assisting on two goals.
Freshmen goalkeepers Maddi Elliott (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart) and Shelby Henley (Novi, Mich./Novi) split up the duties between the posts. Elliott made two saves and allowed one goal in 35 minutes of action while Henley made three saves and allowed two goals in her 43:39 of play.
Ball State was able to outshoot Lehigh 24-12 on the day and held the advantage in penalty corners, 6-3. The Cardinals were able to get eight shots in the first period, 10 in the second and six in the overtime session, while the Mountain Hawks had five, four and three, respectively.
Ball State (1-0) will take on Lafayette on Sunday, Aug.26 at noon. You can follow the team on Twitter at @BallStFHockey and be sure to check back to ballstatesports.com for updates.
