Throughout the season, coach Craig Roberts has maintained that his team wouldn't change its style to adapt for an opponent.
On Sunday, he went against his mantra.
Ball State played a game of preparation at Central Michigan University, taking a more defensive approach than is customary for this season's team. The Cardinals lost 1-0, but Roberts said the team gained valuable information if they meet the Chippewas again in the Mid-American Conference.
"They have good offensive power and we wanted to see what they had," he said. "They can score goals and we wanted to make sure we matched up effectively with that. It was kind of a sparring game. The goal is to get into the tournament and once you do, it's game on from there. We know there's a chance we'll have a rematch with them. In fact, we'd like one."
Ball State sat back in a more conservative formation for most of the game, waiting for its opportunity to counterattack. Central Michigan used this to take the advantage in shots 15-2.
In the 74th minute, Claire Horton scored her first goal of the season for Central Michigan off a free kick. Ball State turned up its attack near the end of the game, but didn't get off a shot in the second half.
It was the first time Ball State lost two games in one weekend all season, but Friday's 5-1 loss to Eastern Michigan brought the team down. Junior co-captain Brigit Reder said Sunday's result reflected the team's progress.
"Despite the result today, we came out and played a heck of a game," Reder said. "We came out and played unified and played together. That was ultimately what we needed to change from Friday."
The two losses this weekend didn't hurt the Cardinals in the MAC. Other results around the conference this weekend solidified the team's spot in the field of eight.
Ball State's last regular season game is Thursday at Toledo. Central Michigan won the MAC Tournament Championship last season, but Toledo has lost only two regular season games in MAC play over the past two seasons. One of those was in the finale last season against Ball State. Reder said the Cardinals are ready to make it two in a row.
"We feel very positive today, despite the loss," she said. "I'm very much looking forward to going into Toledo because we know our mentality is back on track. We're looking to go forward from here. We know we can take it to Toledo."
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