Ball State University Athletics
Sunday, August 31
Muncie, Ind.
12:00 PM
Ball State University
3
vs
2
Saint Louis University
Photo by: Heather Parker
Verratti’s Three-Goals Lifts Field Hockey Past Saint Louis
August 31, 2025 | Field Hockey
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State field hockey team (1-1) earned a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Saint Louis Billikens (0-1) Sunday afternoon at the Briner Sports Complex.
Julia Verratti led the Cardinals offensively after netting three goals. Verratti now has four scores total for her career at Ball State.
After a defensive battle in the opening 15 minutes of action, Jade Vandevoorde found Verratti for her first score at the 20:24 mark in the second frame of play. Shortly after, Emily Kate Covert blindsided Saint Louis with a quick dribble into the scorer's circle and found Verratti for goal number two which gave BSU the 2-0 edge over the Billikens.
After that, Saint Louis tacked on a score before intermission to make it a 2-1 ball game at the break.
Verratti opened the third period as she found the cage with just 55 seconds shaved off the clock with the assist coming from Ellie Francois to make it a two-score lead for BSU.
SLU's Olivia Smith then drilled a shot five minutes later to close the gap, but Ball State's defense held off the Billikens from scoring the remainder of the contest to secure the Cardinals first victory of the season.
In goal was freshman Cali Hyman, who earned her first collegiate win of the season. Hyman finished the day with three saves and 20 total for the weekend.
The Ball State field hockey team will head out west for three contests next weekend as it faces Stanford on Thursday followed by a contest against UC Davis on Friday. Both games begin at 3 pm ET. The Cardinals close out play at Cal on Sunday beginning at 4 pm ET.
Julia Verratti led the Cardinals offensively after netting three goals. Verratti now has four scores total for her career at Ball State.
After a defensive battle in the opening 15 minutes of action, Jade Vandevoorde found Verratti for her first score at the 20:24 mark in the second frame of play. Shortly after, Emily Kate Covert blindsided Saint Louis with a quick dribble into the scorer's circle and found Verratti for goal number two which gave BSU the 2-0 edge over the Billikens.
After that, Saint Louis tacked on a score before intermission to make it a 2-1 ball game at the break.
Verratti opened the third period as she found the cage with just 55 seconds shaved off the clock with the assist coming from Ellie Francois to make it a two-score lead for BSU.
SLU's Olivia Smith then drilled a shot five minutes later to close the gap, but Ball State's defense held off the Billikens from scoring the remainder of the contest to secure the Cardinals first victory of the season.
In goal was freshman Cali Hyman, who earned her first collegiate win of the season. Hyman finished the day with three saves and 20 total for the weekend.
The Ball State field hockey team will head out west for three contests next weekend as it faces Stanford on Thursday followed by a contest against UC Davis on Friday. Both games begin at 3 pm ET. The Cardinals close out play at Cal on Sunday beginning at 4 pm ET.
Players Mentioned
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