Friday, August 23
Muncie, IND
5:00 PM
Ball State University
0-0-0, 0-0-0
6
vs
0
Eastern Illinois
0-0-0, 0-0-0
1
2
F
Eastern Ill.
0
0
0
Ball State
2
4
6
Photo by: Ball State Athletics
Alsop’s Hat Trick, Rife’s First Win Highlight Season Opener
August 23, 2019 | Soccer
MUNCIE, Ind. – Led by a hat trick from sophomore Grace Alsop, the Ball State University soccer team dominated Eastern Illinois University, 6-0, to give new head coach Josh Rife his first win and usher in the 2019 season.
"These girls have worked so hard and fought through all the changes in the program this offseason, so I couldn't be happier for them than I am right now," Rife said. "They certainly deserved this tonight. I'll take a 1-0 win any day, but we will also take six goals any time we can get them. We created great chances and it was a great win."
The Cardinals wasted little time on offense as Alsop found the back of the net from the top of the box in the 17th minute after a perfect pass from Kerrigan Johnson. Ball State kept the pressure on for the remainder of the half and broke through again in the 33rd minute when Claudia Como and Sam Kambol teamed up to serve a perfect ball to 2018 MAC Freshman of the Year Tatiana Mason, who scored to give BSU a 2-0 lead. That score sent both teams into the locker room for halftime.
Just 32 seconds into the second half, Alsop scored her second goal of the day from a difficult angle, being nearly parallel to the goal on the left side. Mason was credited with an assist on the play. Not 10 minutes later, Julia Elvbo struck a ball into the back of the net off a beautiful feed from Yela Ziswiler to put BSU up 4-0.
The pressure continued as the Cardinals kept the ball in their attacking half for the majority of the match. In the 69th minute, Ball State earned a corner which Johnson sent to the back post. Lexy Smith, in her Cardinal debut, headed the ball across goal where Alsop was waiting to head in her third goal of the match and complete the first Ball State hat trick since 2011. Later, in the 81st minute, Tatiana Hawkins-Dabney scored the first goal of her career in her Ball State debut to complete the 6-0 victory when she went far post from the top left corner of the box.
As a team, Ball State compiled 19 shots, nine of which were on goal. The Cardinal defense held the Panthers to five total shots on the night, and Tristin Stuteville, who earned the shutout, saved the lone shot on goal she faced. Ball State's offense forced six corner kicks while the defense conceded just three. The six-point margin of victory was the largest over a Division I opponent since the year 2000 when Ball State took down Youngstown State by a score of 11-1. Friday was also the first time BSU scored six goals in a single match since 2005 in a 6-1 win over Purdue Fort Wayne.
Seven Cardinals, including Smith, Como and Hawkins-Dabney made their respective Ball State debuts on Friday. Freshmen Sam Musick and Tiffani Torres as well as transfers Lizzie Philibin and Andrea Rabanales also saw action in the victory.
Ball State is afforded little time to celebrate its dominant performance as Big East foe Marquette makes the journey to Muncie on Sunday afternoon. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET with the match being broadcast live on BallStateSports.com/watch and 102.9 FM/1340 AM. The Golden Eagles lost their opener, 2-0, at Colorado State earlier in the week. Admission to the match at the Briner Sports Complex is free.
For all the latest on Ball State soccer, follow @BallStateSoccer on social media and visit BallStateSports.com.
"These girls have worked so hard and fought through all the changes in the program this offseason, so I couldn't be happier for them than I am right now," Rife said. "They certainly deserved this tonight. I'll take a 1-0 win any day, but we will also take six goals any time we can get them. We created great chances and it was a great win."
The Cardinals wasted little time on offense as Alsop found the back of the net from the top of the box in the 17th minute after a perfect pass from Kerrigan Johnson. Ball State kept the pressure on for the remainder of the half and broke through again in the 33rd minute when Claudia Como and Sam Kambol teamed up to serve a perfect ball to 2018 MAC Freshman of the Year Tatiana Mason, who scored to give BSU a 2-0 lead. That score sent both teams into the locker room for halftime.
Just 32 seconds into the second half, Alsop scored her second goal of the day from a difficult angle, being nearly parallel to the goal on the left side. Mason was credited with an assist on the play. Not 10 minutes later, Julia Elvbo struck a ball into the back of the net off a beautiful feed from Yela Ziswiler to put BSU up 4-0.
The pressure continued as the Cardinals kept the ball in their attacking half for the majority of the match. In the 69th minute, Ball State earned a corner which Johnson sent to the back post. Lexy Smith, in her Cardinal debut, headed the ball across goal where Alsop was waiting to head in her third goal of the match and complete the first Ball State hat trick since 2011. Later, in the 81st minute, Tatiana Hawkins-Dabney scored the first goal of her career in her Ball State debut to complete the 6-0 victory when she went far post from the top left corner of the box.
As a team, Ball State compiled 19 shots, nine of which were on goal. The Cardinal defense held the Panthers to five total shots on the night, and Tristin Stuteville, who earned the shutout, saved the lone shot on goal she faced. Ball State's offense forced six corner kicks while the defense conceded just three. The six-point margin of victory was the largest over a Division I opponent since the year 2000 when Ball State took down Youngstown State by a score of 11-1. Friday was also the first time BSU scored six goals in a single match since 2005 in a 6-1 win over Purdue Fort Wayne.
Seven Cardinals, including Smith, Como and Hawkins-Dabney made their respective Ball State debuts on Friday. Freshmen Sam Musick and Tiffani Torres as well as transfers Lizzie Philibin and Andrea Rabanales also saw action in the victory.
Ball State is afforded little time to celebrate its dominant performance as Big East foe Marquette makes the journey to Muncie on Sunday afternoon. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET with the match being broadcast live on BallStateSports.com/watch and 102.9 FM/1340 AM. The Golden Eagles lost their opener, 2-0, at Colorado State earlier in the week. Admission to the match at the Briner Sports Complex is free.
For all the latest on Ball State soccer, follow @BallStateSoccer on social media and visit BallStateSports.com.
Team Stats
EIU
BSU
Goals
0
6
Shots
5
19
Shots on Goal
1
9
Saves
3
1
Corners
1
7
Fouls
7
3
Scoring Plays
ALSOP, Grace (1)
Assisted By: JOHNSON, Kerrigan
GOAL by BSU ALSOP, Grace (FIRST GOAL), Assist by JOHNSON, Kerrigan, goal number 1 for season.
16:42
MASON, Tatiana (1)
Assisted By: KAMBOL, Sam , COMO, Claudia
GOAL by BSU MASON, Tatiana, Assist by KAMBOL, Sam and COMO, Claudia, goal number 1 for season.
32:25
ALSOP, Grace (2)
Assisted By: MASON, Tatiana
GOAL by BSU ALSOP, Grace, Assist by MASON, Tatiana, goal number 2 for season.
45:32
ELVBO, Julia (1)
Assisted By: ZISWILER, Yela
GOAL by BSU ELVBO, Julia, Assist by ZISWILER, Yela, goal number 1 for season.
54:13
ALSOP, Grace (3)
Assisted By: SMITH, Lexy , JOHNSON, Kerrigan
GOAL by BSU ALSOP, Grace, Assist by SMITH, Lexy and JOHNSON, Kerrigan, goal number 3 for season.
68:33
Hawkins-Dabney, Tati (1)
GOAL by BSU Hawkins-Dabney, Tati, goal number 1 for season.
80:29
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
5
SOG
3
Goals
3
Assists
0
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
1
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Soccer
M
/ SoccerM/F
/ SoccerM/F
/ Soccer
D/M
/ Soccer
F
/ SoccerM/F
/ Soccer
M/F
/ Soccer
D
/ Soccer
M
/ Soccer
D
/ Soccer
GK
/ Soccer
M
/ Soccer
D
/ SoccerSoccer vs. Central Michigan (One Camera Feed)
Thursday, September 18
This Week in Ball State Sports Podcast // Guests: Mike Uremovich, Addie Chester, and Jeff Mitchell
Thursday, September 04
Women's Soccer // Win vs IU Indy
Tuesday, September 02
Soccer // Season Preview
Thursday, August 07