It was a roller coaster weekend for the Ball State defensive unit.
Friday the Cardinals (1-2-1) lost 3-2 against Northern Iowa (3-0) at the Ball State Soccer Complex. The Cardinals' offense dominated the Panthers, outshooting them 17-8. Five of the Northern Iowa shots were on goal; three went in the net.
"We're not going to beat anybody if we give up soft goals, and we gave up three soft goals," Rainey said.
Northern Iowa scored three minutes into the game on a shot by forward Shanon Dechant. Candice Divoky got the assist off a corner kick on the right side. The shot beat Ball State goalie Megan Swafford on her left side.
"We have to be ready and realize that when the ball is in the box, not just our goalkeepers, everybody on the field has to realize that the other team is going to try and shoot," Rainey said.
Ball State evened the score in the 31st minute after a through pass by senior Alicia Kalafut found junior Kate Nadalin at the top of the box. Nadalin ripped her shot past Northern Iowa's goalie Anne-Marie Witko.
Northern Iowa jumped to a 2-1 lead in the 61st minute when a corner kick was knocked into the net by Ball State.
The Panthers added another goal five minutes later when Ball State's freshman goalie Alison Becker, who started the second half, punched the ball to the top of the box. Katilin Stimpson corralled the ball and shot the ball past Becker.
The third goal proved to be too much for Ball State's offense to overcome, despite another goal by Nadalin on a pass by freshman Amy Holst in the 72nd minute.
Sunday the Cardinals traveled to Xavier (2-1-1) and tied the Musketeers 0-0 in two overtimes.
Head coach Ron Rainey said he was much happier with the effort of his defense in Sunday's game. The Musketeers outshot the Cardinals 23-12. Swafford recorded three saves in the first half, and Becker finished the match, tallying nine saves. Rainey said he was very satisfied with the overall effort of his team in the match.
"I'd rather tie 0-0, than 4-4," he said.
Junior forward Dee Nocero led Ball State's offensive attack with five shots, three on goal.
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