Soccer Defeats BG as Roberts Breaks Wins Record

Friday, October 14

Muncie, Ind.

4:00 PM

Ball State University

11-2-2 (6-0-1MAC)

Bowling Green

7-8-0 (2-5-0MAC)

Bowling Green

Ball State

Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services

October 14, 2016 | Soccer

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Cardinals run unbeaten streak to nine games with another shutout

MUNCIE, Ind. -- The 2016 Ball State soccer team continued to make its mark in the record book Friday in a 2-0 victory over Bowling Green at the Briner Sports Complex.

The Cardinals extended their unbeaten streak to nine straight games (eight wins and one draw), tying the school record. They also gave head coach Craig Roberts the 71st win of his Ball State career, breaking the program's top mark he previously shared with Ron Rainey.

"I'm very proud of it, but it's really down to the players," Roberts said. "The players get the results, so they're the ones who deserve the accolades. But as I told them after the game, if there was a team I had to get the 71st win with, it would be this team. I really enjoyed sharing it with them."

Friday's win was also important in the Mid-American Conference standings. With Kent State's tie at Central Michigan, the Cardinals (11-2-2, 6-0-1 MAC) and Golden Flashes are tied for first place overall at 19 points with four games to play.

Junior forward Allison Abbe and freshman midfielder Julia Elvbo scored the goals against Bowling Green (7-8-0, 2-5-0 MAC), and Ball State rolled to yet another shutout. Eight of the nine opponents during this streak have failed to register a goal against the Cardinals.

It was a total team effort for Ball State with 19 different players seeing the field. All of them played at least 19 minutes.

"We had contributions from a lot of different individuals tonight," Roberts said. "Shannon Greeley and Lauren Lerew played very well in the midfield. I felt Kelsey Wendlandt really stepped up her game today and showed what she can truly do. I was really pleased to see that."

After Ball State took a 1-0 lead into halftime courtesy of Abbe's goal, Wendlandt came out aggressively to open the second. She generated a pair of scoring chances with her speed as the Cardinals pressured the Bowling Green goal.

Ball State broke through minutes later on Elvbo's third goal of the season. Alessandra Fistrovich fed the ball to Yela Ziswiler in the right corner to start the play. Ziswiler then crossed it into the box, and Elvbo finished it off with a header.

But the first-half goal from Abbe proved to be the only one Ball State needed. The Plainfield, Indiana, product broke a scoreless tie in the 43rd minute, taking a pass from Lauren Roll and striking from 20 yards out to give her team a boost headed into halftime. It was her second goal of the year as she became the eighth different player with multiple goals for Ball State this season.

"We just talked to the team about taking shots," Roberts said, "about knowing they have support from their teammates and coaches to unleash that shot and have confidence with making that decision."

Ball State out-shot Bowling Green 13-6 for the game and limited the Falcons to just one shot on goal. That shot came on a desperation kick from 40 yards out in the game's final second.

Alyssa Heintschel played the full 90 minutes in goal for her sixth shutout of the year and the team's ninth. Ball State is one shutout away from tying the single-season school record of 10 set in 2001 and matched again in 2005 and 2007.

The Cardinals are one game away from setting a new school record for longest unbeaten streak. The current streak is one of four in program history that has reached nine games, but none has yet reached 10.

Ball State will look to do it Sunday when Toledo visits for a 2 p.m. kickoff. Like Friday's game, the Toledo contest will also air on ESPN3 and WatchESPN, produced by Ball State Sports Link.

"We're very proud of some of the things we've accomplished this year, but that's not our focus," Roberts said. "Our focus is on the next opponent."