Ball State University
Akron
Starck's Game-Winner Leads Soccer Team Over Akron
September 23, 2012 | Soccer
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Sophomore midfielder Cailey Starck scored her first collegiate goal Sunday against Akron to break a 1-1 tie in the 82nd minute and propel the Ball State soccer team to a 2-1 victory at the Briner Sports Complex.
Starck took a pass from Michelle Blok about 30 yards away from the goal and fired her shot on a line. It just cleared the outstretched arm of Akron goalkeeper Alex Luevano-Harden and found the top of the net to help Ball State claim its second win of the weekend.
"Coach Roberts told me to go in and shoot," Starck said. "He knows my shot, so he had a lot of confidence in me like he has in all of our team. He's been telling us to look for shots lately. We have some very good offensive threats; we just need to be aggressive and take our opportunities."
The Cardinals (5-3-2), who defeated Buffalo in their Mid-American Conference opener Friday, are now 2-0 in league play. Ball State has been beaten only once in its past six games (three wins and two ties). Akron (4-5-0) dropped to 0-2 through one weekend of league action.
Seeking to ignite his team's offense, Ball State coach Craig Roberts made a lineup change Sunday, giving starting nods to forwards Nicole Pembleton and Kalynn Flanagan, who typically come off the bench.
The change paid dividends early when Flanagan played a role in the Cardinals' first goal less than three minutes into the game. Defender Pavla Benyrova sent a beautiful ball into the box to Flanagan, who was charging toward the far post. The Ball State freshman directed the ball toward the other side of the goal, where Jasmine Moses knocked it in.
The goal was the third in four games for Moses, and it came on the first of many Ball State shots on the day. The Cardinals logged a season-high 25 shots, 15 more than Akron, and put 11 of those shots on frame. Ball State especially controlled play in the second half, out-shooting the Zips 14-4.
"I was really pleased that we called on different personalities to do the job at certain times and I felt they really did their jobs well," Ball State coach Craig Roberts said. "In the second half, we recognized some of the areas where they were a little more vulnerable and we exploited those. It would have been nice to have scored on some more of those shots, but we did really well to open them up."
Akron's goal came on a free kick with seven minutes to play in the first half, equalizing the early score from Moses. Forward Ashley Hughes took the free kick quickly from just outside the 18-yard box and passed it ahead to Karina Atkinson, who snuck it by Ball State keeper Aubrey Buehler for the Zips' only goal of the day.
The score then remained tied 1-1 for nearly 43 minutes of game action before Starck lined up the game-winner. The Cardinals continued to control possession for much of the closing minutes. Akron had its best chance to force overtime on a corner kick with one minute left, but Benyrova stopped the initial play into the box and then stole the ball on Akron's next touch to preserve the victory.
Senior midfielder Alyssa Ables led the Ball State attack with four shots in the game, including three on goal, while Starck and Maimee Morris recorded three shots each. Hughes finished with a team-high three shots for Akron. Luevano-Harden made nine saves against the heavy Ball State attack, while Buehler made three saves to help the Cardinals open the MAC schedule 2-0 for the first time since 2007.
Ball State, which has played seven of its first 10 games at home, will go on the road to continue conference play next weekend. The Cardinals are slated to play Friday at Kent State and Sunday at Ohio.
