Ball State University
(6-8, 4-6MAC)
Central Michigan University
(5-4, 3-3MAC)
Donegan and McClay’s Late Goals In Final Period Push BSU Past CMU
April 18, 2021 | Field Hockey
With the win, Ball State improves to 6-8 on the season and 4-6 in Mid-American Conference action, while Central Michigan falls to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in league play.
"We've talked all year about 'Embracing the Legacy' of success within this program," Ball State head coach Stephanie Bernthal said. "We've been in a rough patch offensively for a few games — not for lack of effort or opportunities, we just couldn't seem to get the bounce or back of the net for a stretch. I give great credit to our whole squad for getting our focus back on the little things that set this team apart from so many programs. They played with exceptional effort, unity, and execution today. We kept it loose and fun, and most of all we wanted to honor these seniors with everything we have. There has been so much dedication and hard work behind the scenes in this program, and building something isn't easy. I give this team credit for continuing to battle and push when the results haven't always gone our way. Nothing was going to stop us today and I'm so proud of the way we left it all out there together."
It was a defensive battle for 55 minutes of action despite the Cardinals' 14 shot attempts while holding the Chippewas to only three shots on the day.A key save from Ball State's goalie Wietske Overdijkink along with pressure from the Cardinals' well-known defense around the MAC helped keep Central Michigan scoreless throughout the contest.
The game looked as if it was going to go into overtime until Donegan scored her third goal of the season off of a rebound at the 55:21 mark. Shortly after, redshirt senior Rachel Pereira dished the ball to McClay for the goal, pushing the Cardinals' lead to 2-0 with just a little over a minute remaining in the contest to seal the win for BSU.
The Ball State field hockey team will close out its Mid-American Conference season next week at home with a pair of games against Miami University on Friday, April 23 and Saturday, April 24. Both games are scheduled to start at 1 p.m. ET and will broadcast live with Friday's contest being televised on ESPN+ and Saturday's on ballstatesports.com.
As a reminder, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting department of health guidance, there will be no general public attendance at Ball State field hockey home games this spring.
Team Stats
DONEGAN, Maureen
rebound
55:21
MCCLAY, Kerrianne
Assisted By: PEREIRA, Rachel
GOAL by BSU MCCLAY, Kerrianne, Assist by PEREIRA, Rachel.
58:53
