Ball State Soccer (12-3-2, MAC 8-2-1) locked up second place in the MAC standings on Thursday evening’s game against Miami (OH) (3-14-1, MAC 1-10). The Cardinals won 39 seconds into overtime, 2-1.
The game-winner was scored by freshman forward Tatiana Mason, her sixth goal of the season and her second game-winner of the year. Mason leads the teams in goals and is second on the team in assists with three.
“She has that in her locker to bring out when need be,” head coach Craig Roberts said. “She has raised her game, performance wise.”
Mason has now scored two game-winners in the same week. Against Central Michigan, Mason scored a 30 yard screamer to give the Cardinals a 2-1 overtime win in last Thursday’s match at the CMU Soccer Complex.
“We had a lot of encouragement coming from the bench,” Mason said. “Every game in the MAC is going to be tough.”
The Cardinals started strong with a sixth minute goal by junior midfielder Julia Elvbo, her third goal of the season. The Cardinals continued their dominance in the first half with a goal in the 28th minute by junior forward Sam Kambol, her second of the season. The half finished off with a 38th minute goal the RedHawks. Freshman forward Lyda Bogdanovitch scored goal her seventh of the season.
“It was a great start to get an early goal,” Elvbo said. “We have stuff to work on before Sunday’s game, but we are definitely going to be ready.”
In the second half, the RedHawks leveled the score in the 67th minute and scored two goals against the Cardinals defense for only the second time this season. The match was brought to overtime after a comeback by the RedHawks. 39 seconds into overtime, Mason scored and secures the Cardinals spot for the second seed heading into the tournament.
The Cardinals will host No. 7 seed Buffalo on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. in the quarterfinal round of the MAC Tournament. If the Cardinals were to win, they would face the winner of either No. 3 seed Western Michigan, or No. 6 seed Akron. The Cardinals will have the opportunity to host both quarterfinal and semifinal games at Briner Sports Complex.
Contact Tyler Pence with any comments at tapence@bsu.edu or on Twitter @tylerpencee
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