Whether by head or by foot, if Brigit Reder took a shot on goal, chances are it would end up buried in the net.
Along with freshman forwards Jasmine Moses and Hannah Chadick, the junior defender pushed aside all doubts about Ball State's offense, at least for now.
The team went 1-0-1 in the Northern Arizona University High Altitude Tournament this weekend in Flagstaff, Arizona. Ball State tied host Northern Arizona 2-2 after double overtime on Friday and beat Lamar 5-1 on Sunday.
Reder scored a hat trick, then added a fourth goal against Lamar on Sunday. She created havoc on set pieces using her 5'9" frame to elevate over smaller opponents in the box or by blasting free kicks from 25 and 45 yards out.
"We managed to be more consistent offensively and she contributed to that in many ways," coach Craig Roberts said. "She's definitely a force to be reckoned with."
After Roberts said earlier in the year he needed his freshmen to get up to game speed quicker, Chadick and Moses responded.
Chadick opened the scoring against Northern Arizona with a goal in the seventh minute and Moses scored the first two goals against Lamar, one being the game winner.
"A lot of the younger players have been led by example by the upperclassmen and had that honeymoon period to settle in," Roberts said. "They are comfortable and aware, and are just now starting to come out of their shell and perform."
Reder said the offensive flow in both of the games came from the team's growing chemistry on the field.
"Our midfielders and forwards really started to work together to produce offense and opportunities for us," Reder said. "This weekend, just in general, we brought another level of intensity."
That new level of intensity started to show results. Because Northern Arizona tied in their second game, Ball State won first place and were awarded tournament champions.
Despite the positive performance, Reder said the team still needs to play a more complete game. Ball State let the Northern Arizona game slip away after a goal lead twice in the game.
"The mindset was to come out strong and play a full 90 minutes," Reder said. "Our offense produced, we created tons of chances, but we didn't play a consistent 90 minutes. That's where we need to improve from here is to not have those breakdowns. In two weekends, we start our conference play, but this was a step in the right direction for us."
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