Ball State picked up two wins and a first-place finish over the weekend at the Five Star Classic Tournament in Macon, Ga.
The first match was a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over the host Mercer University Friday. The Cardinals fell behind 12 minutes into the second half when Sarah Tummons scored to give Mercer the 1-0 lead.
It was during the 73rd minute that freshman Lindsay Wiltshire tied the game with the first collegiate goal of her career. Wiltshire scored once again six minutes later giving Ball State the lead for good.
Sophomore Dee Nocero was credited with the assist on both goals, her first two of the season.
The team picked up right where it left off Friday, defeating Southeastern Louisiana 3-0 Sunday afternoon. Ball State took a total of 18 shots in the match, 12 on goal.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals defense that held SLU to 8 shots with only two of these were on goal.
"One of the most important things that we did was controlling the tempo of both games," head coach Ron Rainey said. "We were the best we've been defensively all year. "
Freshman Brenda Skoczelas put Ball State on the board, scoring off of a pass from senior Eileen Weinheimer in the 34th minute.
Seven minutes into the second half, it was Nocero posting her first score of the year off an assist from Chelsea Cole, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.
Sophomore Kate Nadalin tacked on the third and final Cardinal goal of the match, a header coming from senior Ehren Reagor's free kick.
Goalkeepers Megan Swafford and K.D. Moreland combined for the shutout.
Rainey said he was pleased with the team's overall play and that things are looking good going into the MAC season.
"It was an excellent team effort. When you have 11 players on the field you always need a lot of people to play well," Rainey said. "In conference games the intensity level goes up, and we just want to do a lot of the same things then that we did this weekend."
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