Falcons Drop MAC Opener on the Road at Ball State

Friday, September 26

Muncie, IN

5:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

1-7 (0-1MAC)

Ball State

5-1-2 (1-0MAC)

Team	1	2	Final F
Bowling Green	0	0	0
Ball State	1	4	5

Photo by: Larry Clapper

September 26, 2014 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML)

Muncie, Indiana – An own goal by the Falcons and a penalty kick by Ball State in the second half tipped the momentum in favor of the home standing Cardinals who defeated Bowling Green State University women's soccer team 5-0 on Friday night in the two teams' MAC opener at the Briner Sports Complex in Muncie, Indiana.

The loss drops the Falcons to 1-7-0 overall and 0-1-0 in MAC play, while Ball State moves to 5-1-2 overall and 1-0-0 in league play with the victory.

"A 5-0 loss is tough to swallow in an opening MAC game, but the reality is we have nine players returning from last year. Only nine of our 22 players have experienced MAC play so this was a huge learning moment for our young team," commented head coach Lindsay Basalyga. "We definitely showed sparks of the level we are capable of competing at, but putting that together for 90 minutes takes time and a commitment to the process. With that being said, I'm really pleased with where we are."

The game opened up with two early shots from the Cardinals in the fourth and sixth minutes of the contest, yet the tide turned on the very next shot attempt as BGSU goalkeeper Lauren Cadel made her second stop of the game in the 12th minute on an Elaina Musleh. On the play, Cadel was injured in a collision in front of the goal and had to leave the game.

Junior Alexis Smith entered the game for the Falcons in goal and immediately made a save on another Musleh shot in the 13th minute to keep the match scoreless.

After sophomore Kara Ross recorded the Falcons' first shot attempt in the 18th minute, which was knocked away by Ball State keeper Brooke Dennis, the Cardinals answered with a goal in the 20th minute when Jasmine Moses played a cross into the front of the box to Madison Oyer who capped off the play with a goal to put Ball State up 1-0.

Looking for the equalizer, BGSU went on the offensive attack over the next several minutes, as Ross placed another shot on frame in the 20th minute, which was followed by a shot from freshman Skylar Fleak in the 24th minute which went wide of the goal.

The Cardinals, who looked to double its lead before the halftime break, accounted for the next three shots of the game, which included a shot that hit off the crossbar in the 30th minute off the foot of Oyer.

Yet the Falcons weathered the storm and responded with a shot online from senior Ashley Garr in the 38th minute, which was hauled in by Dennis in front of the goal, and a shot from sophomore Jessica Creech in the final minute of the half that flew wide of the frame to allow the Cardinals to escape the first half with a 1-0 lead.

The second half saw the two teams' trade shots back-and-forth over the first 15 minutes of the period with both Smith for BGSU and Dennis for Ball State each making saves during that time span, as neither team could find the back of the net.

The next score would come by way of an own goal in the 64th minute, as a BGSU defender deflected a ball in front of the goal that rolled into the back of the net to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

Smith would keep the Falcons in the match with two saves over the next few minutes of play until a foul in the box whistled on the Falcons in the 69th minute allowed the Cardinals to convert on a penalty kick and push its lead to 3-0.

That was the tipping point of the match, as Ball State added another goal from Kelsey Wendlandt in the 70th minute and a fifth goal in the 86th minute from Aly Kohanowski to defeat the Falcons 5-0.

Ball State outshot the Falcons 21-10 on the night, as BGSU tallied five shots apiece in both the first and second half of the contest.

Ball State also held a 6-4 advantage in both corner kicks and fouls, while BGSU tallied nine saves to the Cardinals four on the night.

Behind Ross' three shots, fellow newcomer Leah Runkle tallied two shots in the second half, while Fleak, Creech, Garr and Sidney Huth all had one shot apiece in the loss.

With Friday night's defeat, the Falcons fall to 8-8-2 overall in MAC Openers since the program began in 1997 with the last MAC opening win coming at Buffalo, 2-1, back in 2011.

BGSU will return to the pitch on Sunday, Sept. 28, when the Falcons will take on Miami at 1 p.m. in Oxford, Ohio.

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