In the past two years, Ball State University has struggled against Big Ten opponents.
Ball State looked much better against No. 17 Indiana University on Saturday, but the result was the same.
The Cardinals fell 2-1 Saturday against the Hoosiers, marking their fifth-straight loss. Their record fell to 2-5 and extended their losing streak against the Big Ten to five games.
The game quickly looked like it wasn't in Ball State's favor as Indiana's Brooke Borneman scored at the 4:42 mark of the match. Borneman drove into the circle and scored in the left side of the cage.
Back and forth the game went, but the Hoosier's defense would not allow a goal from the Cardinals in the first half.
"There are a lot of positives that came out of [Saturday's] game," coach Annette Payne said. "We played true to our character and it was cool as a coach to watch."
The Cardinals bounced back and in the 43rd minute Brooke MacGillivary tied the score at 1-1.
Ball State's defense held Indiana's offense from scoring again until three minutes left in the match. Corey Brautigam found the right side of the goal, putting the Hoosiers on top 2-1.
The Cardinals made a late push to tie the game, but it was to no avail as the Hoosiers remained on top.
"It was great to see we made an effort with sixty seconds left to come back," Payne said. "It was a good, solid 70 minutes of hockey."
Ball State rebounded well from Wednesday's performance against Miami University.
"Wednesday was not what we're capable of and [Saturday] it showed our character and talent that we have," Payne said. "It's important that we keep going down this path and keep growing."
Senior goalkeeper Tiffany Shifflett reached double-digits in saves for the first time in the 2009 season with 11.
After the game, Payne told her team they played well.
"They realized they played a good game of hockey and we made a lot of good adjustments," Payne said. "We were on the same page."
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