Ball State University
IPFW
Soccer Cardinals Earn Shutout Win Over IPFW
September 02, 2012 | Soccer
The Cardinals' defensive effort limited IPFW's chances, and senior goalkeeper Aubrey Buehler made a handful of critical saves in the second half to ensure the eighth shutout of her Ball State career.
Ball State improved to 3-2-0 on the season and will now prepare for its trip to Honolulu, Hawaii, for two games next weekend at the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Soccer Classic. IPFW dropped to 1-3-0 but suffered its third 1-0 loss in four games.
The Cardinals got the tough test they expected from a Mastadon team that gave defending Mid-American Conference champion Toledo all it wanted in a one-goal game last weekend. IPFW was also the more rested team, having not played in a week.
"We still need to finish more often offensively, but the fact that we got a win against one of the best IPFW teams I've seen in years was good," Ball State head coach Craig Roberts said. "I was really pleased with everybody's attitude and their dedication to what needed to be done."
Sunday's action was scoreless until the 34th minute when sophomore forward Nicole Pembleton sent a hard ball in front of the net from just outside the six-yard box on the goal line. IPFW keeper Sam Pavlika came out to deflect the ball, but a charging Stroinski got to it before Pavlika could control it and managed to find the right side of the net.
"Since it's raining a lot, the ball is obviously going to skip, so crashing the net was a big thing," Stroinski said. "You just try to get in there and have the tenacity to finish a goal. It doesn't matter how it happens as long as it goes in the back of the net."
Ball State's defensive effort limited IPFW to just one shot the entire first half and only five total shots for the game. The Mastadons had their best chances near the middle of the second half, but Buehler was ready when called upon.
Ball State's senior keeper had three key saves in the second half, including a diving stop on a hard shot from IPFW's Rhea Proctor in the 60th minute. Roberts was pleased with the performance from Buehler and from the effort of his midfielders and defenders as a whole.
"The coverage in the middle was much improved," Roberts said, "and I thought it was one of the best performances from Brigit Reder so far this season. Skylar Chew is just very steady back there and Pavla Benyrova is playing outstanding right now; she's just at a different level."
Ball State out-shot IPFW for the game by a 14-5 margin, led by Sarah Orisich's game-high four shots, three of which came on goal. IPFW's Erin Gill had a team-high two shots, while Pavlika finished with four saves for the Mastadons.
The shutout was the first of the season for Buehler, who had five last year as a junior. As a team, the Cardinals allowed just one goal over two games this weekend, and they have surrendered only three scores in their past four outings.
Sunday's contest wrapped up a four-game home stand for Ball State, which will take on Hawaii on Friday in its first game at next weekend's tournament. The Cardinals will also face Detroit in Honolulu before returning to Muncie for three games in a row, beginning Sept. 16 against Butler.
