It took one 15-minute stretch of play in Sunday's 3-1 loss to Western Kentucky to show the growing pains of a young soccer team.
The Cardinals conceded two goals within the first 12 minutes of the game to the Hilltoppers and another right before halftime. Despite winning almost every offensive category, the early deficit proved costly.
"Midway through the first half we got our act together and started putting the pressure on them," coach Craig Roberts said. "The hardest thing to stomach is the result, because we dominated the second half."
Even more disappointing for the Cardinals is that this performance came after a dominating win on Friday. In their first game of the season at the Western Kentucky Tournament, Ball State beat Murray State 3-0.
Junior midfielder Maggie Brown, who scored the lone goal against Western Kentucky, said the team can be good, but the players aren't perfect and must work to get there.
One good characteristic of a young team is they usually bounce back quickly. This team seems to be no different.
"We did come out flat, but now we know what corrections to make for this upcoming Friday," Brown said. "I think it's good that it happened early in the season; we'll learn from that, and so that's good."
Ball State will host Big Ten powerhouse Illinois on Friday. It is the first home game of the season and the first game at the new Briner Sports Complex.
As the Cardinals continue to adjust to new formations and a new turf field this week, a few players have already stuck out in the weekend's games.
Junior defenders Skylar Chew and Brigit Reder both won All-Tournament accolades at Western Kentucky along with Brown. Brown emerged as Roberts' go-to scoring option off the bench during the weekend. She leads the team in goals with two.
Sophomore goalkeeper Layne Schramm appears to be emerging as the favorite for the starting spot. She shared playing time with junior Aubrey Buehler, and they have battled for the starting job since last season. Schramm recorded the shutout against Murray State on Friday and also relieved Buehler late in the first half against Western Kentucky after the team scored its third goal. Schramm didn't surrender any goals against the Hilltoppers.
Brown said the defense was also stingy, despite giving up the three goals. Ball State will need all the pieces to come together versus Illinois. Last year the Illini beat the Cardinals 3-0 in Champaign, Ill.
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