The field hockey team came into the weekend hungry for its firstwin. The solid play by the Cardinals earned them a pair ofconference victories, beating Louisville on Friday and knocking offMiami on Saturday before losing to No. 7 Michigan on Sunday.
Ball State (2-7, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) finally brokethrough with its first win of the season, coming at the expense ofLouisville (3-6). BSU scored two first half goals and held on for a2-1 win.
Coach Annette Payne was relieved to finally see her team pullthrough and get a big win.
"It was huge," Payne said. "The girls worked hard for this."
Lindsay Quay started the scoring for the Cards 10 minutes intothe game on an assist from Chantelle Isaac. Holly Frantz added tothe cause five minutes later by scoring her second goal of theyear, which was also assisted by Isaac.
Frantz expressed similar sentiments as Payne about the first winof the season.
"I think it was huge," Frantz said. "We've been working hard allseason. It feels good, especially in MAC."
Gunning for their second win in a row, the Cardinals hostedMiami Saturday. After a sluggish first half and the RedHawksleading 1-0, Ball State came out fired up in the second half. TheCards scored four goals on their way to a 4-1 win.
"We were a little flat in the first half," Payne said. "In thesecond, we came out a little more Ball State style.
"That's our team."
Quay started the scoring again for the Cardinals, knocking in anunassisted goal seven minutes into the second half. Exactly oneminute later, Isaac knocked in her first goal of the season on anassist from Frantz. Isaac would later score again, giving her twofor the game.
Freshman Theran Teach scored her first career goal and the thirdgoal of the game for BSU. Teach and Frantz were able to break awayand forced the goalie to leave the net. Frantz passed the ball toTeach who put it home for her first collegiate goal.
"It was spectacular," Teach said. "It was a great pass by Holly.I was just there at the right time."
The four goals allowed by Miami came against the top goalkeeperin the MAC entering play. Kerri Orr entered the game with threeshutouts and a 1.65 goals-against average.
"Scoring (twice) against the top goalie is definitely ahighlight for me," Isaac said.
Although goalkeeper Tracy Bannister did not record a singlesave, she was able to improve her record to 2-3 on the year.
No. 7 Michigan came to Muncie on Sunday riding a three gamewinning streak that featured victories over No. 8 Northeastern andNo. 16 Indiana. The Wolverines were relentless in their attack andknocked off the Cardinals 4-0.
Michigan (7-3) was led by senior Jessica Blake who scored twogoals and assisted the other two. Blake's two goals gives her aseason total of 14, as she has scored in every game but one.
"Michigan is a good team," Payne said. "They are skilled, butour team is too. I think we played great. We have a lot to be proudof. We played well, especially being our third game of theweekend.
"Fatigue may have been a factor."
Despite the loss to Michigan, Ball State sits atop the MAC witha 2-0 record.
"It's good, but there is a lot more games to come," Payne said."We definitely need to continue to work hard."
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