The worst-case scenario for the Cardinals came to be as Bellarmine capitalized on self-inflicted errors by Ball State, sealing a 3-2 comeback win in overtime. The Knights hand the Cardinals their fourth loss in a row, as well as their third straight Mid-American Conference (MAC) loss.
The first of these miscues by the Red and White came when the Knights tied the game at two after a high pass ricocheted off of sophomore Jessica Rochat’s stick and dribbled into the back of the net for a score.
The game remained tied at two heading into the sudden death overtime period, and eventually Ball State went a man up when junior Isabel Gladys earned a green card. But mere seconds later, when Rochat and senior goalkeeper Hannah Johnston tried to go after a ball and clear the zone, the miscommunication caused the ball to tip off of Rochat’s stick and hit the wood in the back of the cage, ending the game in stunning fashion.
To start the game, the Cardinals came out of the gates early in the first, as they kept up the offensive pressure by adding on a penalty corner early in the quarter. They capitalized on the penalty corner when graduate student Kerrianne McClay sent a laser to the back of the cage to give Ball State the early 1-0 lead.
Defensively, Ball State held strong in the first half as they allowed the Knights to take only one shot in the first quarter. Johnston only had to make one save in the quarter as well. Although the Knights applied more pressure on Ball State in the second, the Cardinals were able to hold their one goal lead heading into the half.
In the third, the Cardinals continued where they left off when sophomore midfielder Fleur Knopert found the back of the cage to put Ball State in the driver’s seat up 2-0.However, Bellarmine answered right back as freshman forward Paige Hoyer poked the ball just under Johnston as she was running out to try and save it. The ball slowly rolled to hit the back of the net and cut the lead in half going into the fourth. Two crucial mistakes later, Bellarmine emerged victorious.
The Daily News reached out to Ball State head coach Caitlin Walsh and athletes for comment but were denied.
This loss only hurts Ball State in its quest to make the MAC Tournament, as the Cardinals currently sit at 2-3 in the MACstandings, moving from the third to sixth place in the standings after the loss. The Cardinals have two more conference games left to go this season, which happen to be against the top two seeds in the conference, Appalachian State and Miami (OH).
Ball State (5-8, 2-3 MAC) remains at home for a non-conference matchup against Indiana (5-8, 0-4 Big Ten Conference) Oct. 15 at noon.
Contact Dane Massey with comments at dtmassey@bsu.edu or on Twitter @danemassey22.
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