Ball State University will be coming home feeling better about its Mid-American Conference opening weekend. The Cardinals recorded their first conference win of the season after beating the University at Buffalo 1-0 Sunday afternoon.
The win comes after a 4-0 loss to Kent State University on Friday evening to open MAC play. With the win against the Bulls, the Cardinals move to 3-6 overall and 1-1 in conference.
"We went into this weekend with confidence after the two home wins, but for whatever reason we came out flat against Kent State," coach Michael Lovett said. "We weren't emotionally invested into the game."
Lovett said he was pleased that his team was able to rebound from the loss at Kent State to win on the road at Buffalo.
"I challenged them to get a road win at halftime, and they came out and played to win in the second half of the match," Lovett said. "Getting our first road win was great for us. There were more Ball State fans in the crowd at Buffalo, and I told them it was basically a home game for us."
The Cardinals took many of their 11 shots early in the first half - three coming from junior forward Missy Gordon in the first 10 minutes of the match. The match was scoreless heading into halftime.
In the second half, Ball State came out and scored in the 57th minute of the match when senior midfielder Megan Ridley sent a free kick into the penalty box that was deflected off junior forward Jacki Eft and freshman defender Brigit Reder sent the loose ball into the net for her first career goal.Freshman goalkeeper Nicole Wood earned her first career shutout and her third win of the season.
The Cardinals held a 14-5 shot advantage against the Bulls. The win marks the first road win for the Cardinals this season.
The team returns home this weekend to face two MAC opponents: Bowling Green State University on Friday and the University of Toledo on Sunday. Lovett said he is expecting his team to come out playing better this weekend to get them in good position in the MAC standings.
"We have to play more consistently next weekend. [Bowling Green and Toledo] are our two big rivals in conference," Lovett said. "It will be an emotional weekend, and we have to come out strong for our home crowd."
MAC Standings
| Central Michigan | 2-0-0 |
| Kent State | 1-0-1 |
| Toledo | 1-0-1 |
| Ball State | 1-1-0 |
| Western Michigan | 1-1-0 |
| Eastern Michigan | 0-0-2 |
| Northern Illinois | 0-0-2 |
| Akron | 0-1-1 |
| Bowling Green | 0-1-1 |
| Buffalo | 0-1-1 |
| Miami | 0-1-1 |
| Ohio | 0-1-1 |
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