After losing to Ohio University on Friday, the field hockey team came back strong Saturday, beating No. 7 Kent State on senior forward Afton Hess's game-winning goal in overtime.
Coming into the Ohio game, the Cardinals knew the Bobcats were better than their 4-7 record, head coach Jen Halliday said. They found out first-hand as Ohio shut them out, 1-0.
The only goal of the game came on a penalty stroke following what Halliday said was a controversial call.
With 30 seconds left in the first half, Ohio had a penalty corner shot. On the shot, the official said the ball struck a Ball State player's foot, resulting in a penalty stroke.
Halliday said only one referee was at the game. The other official didn't show up.
"With only one official, there was no opposing opinion," Halliday said. "It's always tough on a subjective call like that, rather than an interpretation of a rule."
A penalty stroke is different than a penalty corner shot in that it is an offensive player one-on-one with the goalie. Ohio's Kelly Taylor put a shot past the reach of Ball State senior goalkeeper Susan McDowell with 12 seconds left in the first half.
Heading into Saturday's game, Kent State was also coming off a loss. The Golden Flashes came out scoring quickly, getting two goals in the first five minutes off penalty corner shots.
When Kent State scored again 10 minutes into the second half, the Cardinals were down 3-0.
"We had to change our mentality and raise our level of intensity and aggression," Halliday said.
Senior forward Allison Haynes led the comeback. With 21:46 left, she slapped a shot over the top of a lunging Kent State goalkeeper.
Three and a half minutes later, Haynes scored on a penalty corner shot to bring the Cardinals within one and change the momentum their way.
With 11 minutes left in the game, Haynes had the ball on the left side of the goal. The Golden Flashes' goalie ran out to stop her, allowing Haynes to pass to wide-open senior midfielder Monika Rhode in front of the net.
Rhode then scored on the unattended goal to tie the game.
With 8 minutes left in the 15-minute overtime period, Hess had a Kent State player one-on-one. She slipped by the defender and drilled a shot through the goalie's legs to win the game.
"I just got the ball and shot hard at the goalie," Hess said. "I knew Al (Haynes) was there for the rebound if I didn't get the shot."
"The loss to Ohio doesn't offset this win," Halliday said. "We're striving for consistency by the end of the season. We're a little schizophrenic right now."
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