Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Morehead State
Soccer Pulls Away Late at Morehead State
September 20, 2015 | Soccer
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The Ball State soccer team scored three goals in the final 20 minutes Sunday on the way to a 3-1 victory at Morehead State.
It was the final non-conference game for the Cardinals (4-2-2) and the 50th win for head coach Craig Roberts in his Ball State career. He joined Ron Rainey as the only Cardinals coaches to reach that mark.
“I was pleased with the way we finished the game today,” Roberts said. “If we would have started the way we finished, we could have made things a little easier on ourselves. But Morehead State is a disciplined team, and this is not an easy place to play.”
Things turned quickly in the second half Sunday when Morehead State (3-5-1) was awarded a penalty kick in the 68th minute and Dani Wilson converted to break a scoreless tie.
That seemed to ignite Ball State, which had not been able to make good on some of its earlier chances. The Cardinals finished the game with a 24-3 advantage in shots and a 15-3 lead in shots on goal but took a while to finally break through.
“It was kind of a wakeup call for us,” Roberts said. “We realized the position we were in. We changed some things up a little bit, but really it was our girls making a real effort to attack.”
Ball State responded almost immediately when Abbie Boswell broke through for her third goal of the season in the 70th minute.
The game then remained even until the 85th minute when Chelsy Swackhamer scored what proved to be the game winner. It was Swackhamer's second goal in as many games.
The Cardinals struck again just a little more than two minutes later to put the game out of reach on Gabby Veldman's third goal of the year.
Ball State now turns its attention to the Mid-American Conference season. The Cardinals will host Eastern Michigan at 5 p.m. Friday at the Briner Sports Complex. The game will be produced by Ball State Sports Link and will air on ESPN3.
