Leading up to this weekend's games, the Ball State soccer team focused on all the right things.
Shot-after-shot was taken to work on placement to put away scoring chances. The team also keyed in on defensive pressure to avoid giving up cheap goals.
But the familiar problems haunted the Cardinals once again.
In Sunday's 1-0 loss at Xavier, Ball State outshot their opponents 22-8, but failed to capitalize on any of the chances.
Ball State coach Craig Roberts was quick to give credit to Xavier's freshman goalkeeper Katie Markesbery, who made 10 saves on the day, but the opportunities were there.
"We did very well to break them [the defense] down on numerous occasions, but just couldn't convert," Roberts said. "A lot of it was down to a great performance by her. She had an outstanding game."
Xavier's lone goal came in the 24th minute when Jessica Brooks received a cross in the box and scored from six yards out. The Musketeers sustained that one-goal cushion the rest of the game.
"That is how the game goes," Roberts said. "We made one mistake and they capitalized on it."
Ball State is 2-3 on the season, but in two of those losses the Cardinals outshot their opponents. Roberts said he isn't sure how to fix the continued scoring problems, but said the team will work through it.
"We feel confident that we'll get it right when we need to," Roberts said. "We have a good squad of players, we just may need to adjust the forward line if need be. But at the same time we are all confident and I don't think anyone is overly concerned."
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