In a match where the Cardinals played 10-on-11 for over 50 minutes, Ball State (4-8-2, 2-4-2 MAC) fell to Kent State (10-4-1, 6-1-1 MAC) 3-0.
Kent State redshirt senior defender Karly Hellstrom scored the first points of the game in the 12th minute to give the Golden Flashes a 1-0 lead.
In the 39th minute, the Cardinals suffered two ejections — senior defender Lexy Smith and assistant coach Hannah Sullivan. After being given a yellow card, Smith got into an argument with the referee and kicked the ball towards the referee. This resulted in a red card and her ejection from the match. After Smith was given the cards, Sullivan was given a yellow card. After aruging with the referee, she was given a red card and ejected from the game. Ball State played the rest of the match with 10 players.
In the 72nd minute, Kent State redshirt sophomore forward Lauryn Arruda gave the Golden Flashes a two-score lead. Kent State extended its lead in the 83rd minute, when a shot from senior forward Khyla Porter bounced off Ball State senior goalkeeper Alex DeRuvo. The ball went directly to Kent State redshirt senior forward Cameron Shedenhelm, who converted for her ninth goal of the season.
Ball State outshot Kent State 22-13 and accumlated 12 shots on goal, but never found the back of the net. Kent State junior goalkeeper Sarah Mellen finished with 12 saves, while DeRuvo had six.
Regardless of the six cards and two ejections, head coach Josh Rife was proud of how the Cardinals fought.
“Proud is an understatement to how I feel about our effort today,” Rife said. “To go down a player early, then still be on the front foot, it really is a credit to the entire group.”
Ball State has its final road game of the regular season against Western Michigan Oct. 21. The match begins at 1 p.m.
Contact Nate Grubb with comments at nathaniel.grubb@bsu.edu or on Twitter @GrubbNate43
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