FIELD HOCKEY: Ball State scores late, seals 2-1 victory over Colgate

A group of individuals muddled through the scoreless first half. A team worked to win in the second.

Junior midfielder Tarel Teach led the Ball State field hockey team to its second victory of the year Sunday. Despite scoring both goals in the Cardinals’ come-from-behind win, Teach said unity and cohesion made it possible.

“In the first half, [Ball State] was just kind of frantic,” she said. “We played individually. Once we settled down and realized what we needed to do and what we were capable of doing, we definitely started connecting.”

Teach scored the team’s first goal in the 48th minute. She was able to drive a shot past the Colgate goalkeeper, following a dribble move to the left of the net.

After losing to Robert Morris in a 0-1 contest Friday, the team felt it was important to improve against Colgate.

“Tarel created opportunities on attack,” head coach Beth Maddox said. “She took shots and that’s what we needed. The team attacked a bit more today and that was a step up.”

Early on though, it looked as if improvement would be of less concern than just keeping up.

Colgate’s Kelsey Jensen scored in the eighth minute to give the Raiders an early advantage. Despite registering 13 shots, it would be their last goal of the match.

Ball State sophomore goalkeeper Shelby Henley made five saves on the day, while junior Jenna Rosenberry made a defensive save as well.

Teach said Ball State is slowly improving, taking “baby steps” in its development.

“I think that we are heading in the right direction,” she said. “It’s just taking us time to realize all of the good things that are happening.”

Good things continued to happen for Teach as she scored a second time in the 57th minute on an assist from freshman Mikayla Mooney. The late goal sealed a 2-1 victory for Ball State.

Maddox said her team needs to continue working on fundamentals as the season progresses.

Ball State will return to its home field at Briner Sports Complex at 3 p.m. Tuesday for a match against Northwestern. The Wildcats are 3-1 this season, already defeating a pair of Top 20 teams.

“Getting a win is always a good thing,” Maddox said. “We have some major issues that need to be fixed before conference games start, and Northwestern is a great opportunity to improve.”