Even with the added support of former players and families, the Ball State field hockey team couldn't secure a win over two games, falling to both Missouri State and St. Louis on Alumni Weekend.
Ball State coach Beth Maddox said she was disappointed in her team on both Saturday and Sunday.
"It was a game we should've won," Maddox said after Saturday's 4-2 loss to Missouri State. "And unfortunately we didn't show up like we needed to."
Missouri State got on the board first, as Olivia Nicotera got around Saturday's starting goalkeeper, freshman Shelby Henley, to put Ball State in a 1-0 hole.
Ball State redshirt freshman Bianca Velez scored her second goal of the season with 96 seconds left to tie the game at 1-1 before halftime.
In the second half, Missouri State scored two quick goals to take the lead.
Freshman Allie White and senior Devon Bell then conspired together to score a goal, according to White.
"We told each other, we were like 'OK, let's go score a goal together,'" White said. "We weren't joking. We were trying to pump each other up, and it ended up working out."
Bell attempted a shot that bounced off the Missouri State goalkeeper's pads, and White scored off the deflection, narrowing the lead to 3-2.
White's goal wasn't enough for the Cardinals to get back in the game before the Bears scored another goal to seal the game.
Maddox said she was "equally as disappointed" in her team on Sunday compared to Saturday.
After spending much of the first half working hard handling the ball, Tarel Teach finally scored her goal at the 26:20 mark to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead that would hold through the half.
The Billikens responded with a goal just two minutes into the second half. Ball State's freshman back Natalie Jardell matched St. Louis and scored her second goal of the season just a minute later.
St. Louis then scored two more goals, winning its first game of the season.
The Cardinals looked like a different team on two different halves, prompting Maddox to say that the second half in Saturday's game against Missouri State was "miserable."
"We didn't show up. We didn't work hard. We didn't work together," Maddox said. "We made very, very, very foolish mistakes that were unnecessary and because of that, we lost."
In the two combined first halves Ball State played this weekend, it outscored its opponent 2-1, but in the two combined second halves, the Cardinals were outscored 6-2.
Maddox mentioned fatigue as one of the reasons for the second half slides.
"We tend to play more individual as we get fatigued and that causes problems for us, Maddox said. "When that happens, we make bad decisions."
When asked about what needs to improve, Maddox pointed out work ethic, among other things.
"They just need to work hard. This is not rocket science," Maddox said. "You show up; you compete; you apply the skills you learned in practice. If you don't, then this is what happens.
"If you make your own plans, it doesn't go accordingly."
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