In the first-ever meeting between Ball State and Indiana, theCardinals took advantage of their one and only scoring chance,surprising the Hoosiers with a 1-0 win in Bloomington.
An outstanding defensive effort by Ball State (4-0) preventedthe Hoosiers (2-1) from capitalizing on an 18-shot barrage.Meanwhile, the Cardinals made their one shot count.
Coach Ron Rainey said he expected the game to be a defensiveeffort heading into the game. "We told our players going in, 'We'regoing to defend more than attack today,'" he said.
In the game's 77th minute, Dee Nocero sped behind the Hoosierdefense and passed to fellow senior forward Kate Nadalin, who snuckthe ball past IU goalkeeper Lauren Fabbro.
"It was a first-class goal with Dee and Kate," Rainey said. "Idon't think we struggled. They're a great team. We said going intotoday that we were going to defend and cut down scoring chances bygetting behind the ball."
Rainey singled out goalkeeper Alison Becker and the startingdefensive four of Betsy Wiltcek, Krista Mitts, Sarah Maxwell andAngie Heyer for strong play. Becker was named Mid-AmericanConference Player of the week.
"It was our best 90 minutes of the year (defensively)," he said."They stayed connected through the 90 minutes and then the midfieldconnected to make it tougher for IU to get good scoringopportunities.
"(Becker) made a lot of plays, but balls were hit off posts. Shewas just having to make good, solid saves. That's a reflection ofthe team's good defensive effort."
Of those 18 Indiana shots, 10 were on goal. In the 19th minute,Becker faced a one-on-one situation with IU forward CarrieDeFreese. DeFreese beat Becker and looked to be on the verge ofscoring, but the Ball State defense prevented a goal by deflectingher shot.
Rainey called the win an awesome result, noting how the team hasstarted strong in non-conference play. The Cardinals return toaction Friday, when Eastern Michigan visits for the home opener andconference opener.
"There will be times when we play defensive when we head intoleague play," Rainey said. "But we'll also play teams in the MACwhere we will have more scoring chances and we will have moreshots. If we can stay sound defensively, it'll be tough for teamsto score on us."
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