Early deficit sees field hockey fall to No. 7 Michigan

Junior midfielder Carley Shannon attempts to get the ball around a La Salle defender at Briner Sports Complex on Oct. 16.  Shannon had one shot on goal in the game.  DN // Patrick Murphy
Junior midfielder Carley Shannon attempts to get the ball around a La Salle defender at Briner Sports Complex on Oct. 16. Shannon had one shot on goal in the game. DN // Patrick Murphy

Ball State Field Hockey (2-12, 2-2 MAC) was unable to secure a road upset against No. 7 Michigan (11-5, 6-1 Big Ten) falling, 6-0. 

The Cardinals fell into a similar situation falling into a 4-0 deficit in the first half. Friday’s matchup, the Cardinals were able to shutout the Golden Flashes for the remainder of the game after falling into an early 4-0 hhole, but they were unable to replicate that effort against the Wolverine’s today. The Wolverines scored two more goals in the second to seal a 0-6 Cardinal loss.

Entering today’s game, Cardinal opponents average 18.5 shots per game. The Wolverines had 33 in today’s matchup. The Cardinals only amassed two shots and one penalty corner.

“We certainly faced a really talented opponent,” head coach Stephanie Bernthal said. “We really want to take away the good things that we did. We definitely need to win more corners and execute a little more on the attacking thirds.” 

Sofia Southam scored the first goal of the game for the Wolverines 5:33 into the game. The Wolverine’s leading scorer of the season Emma Way scored her first goal of the game 10 minutes later, followed shortly by a Maya Gompper goal. The first half Wolverine domination ended with a Kate Burney goal. Emma Way got her second goal of the game in the second, which was followed up by a Kate Walker score. 

Redshirt sophomore back Rachel Pereira and redshirt junior forward Michelle Shampton each had one shot attempt for the Cardinals. Redshirt sophomore goaltender Grace Chavez tied her season high in saves with 13. 

“I love these games, because I know they have really good forwards on their team and it is just a really fun challenge for me," Chavez said. "I face shots that I wouldn’t normally see in practice." 

The Cardinals are back on the road on Friday, Oct. 19 to face MAC opponent Central Michigan at 3 p.m.

Contact Gavin Crafton with any comments at gncrafton@bsu.edu or on Twitter @GavinCrafton 

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