An outstanding offensive effort against Marshall on Fridaydidn't carry over to Sunday, when the Ball State soccer team fellto a strong Ohio team that's among the top of the Mid-AmericanConference standings, 3-0.
The Cardinals (6-2-4 overall, 2-2-4 MAC) started the weekendstrong with a 1-0 win over the Herd, but couldn't contain Ohio'sTiffany Horvath on Sunday. Horvath had a hand in all three goals,scoring the first and assisting on the other two. Natalie Greinadded two goals in the second half for the knockout punch.
Kate Nadalin and Dee Nocero provided the offensive spark for theCardinals on Friday with Nadalin leading the way with eight shotsand four shots on goal. She was finally rewarded for her effortswhen she assisted on an Amy Holst goal in the 77th minute,eventually giving the Cardinals the win. The Cardinals dominatedthe ball throughout the game, finishing with 19 shots to the Herd's10.
"We expect that out of (Nadalin and Nocero). They are clickingand getting good scoring chances," coach Ron Rainey said. "We needthem to do well because it opens up some things for other people onthe field.
It was nice to see a goal scored on quite a bit of hustle andwork by (Holst and Nadalin)," he added.
On Sunday, the Bobcats feasted on the Cardinals from beginningto end, taking the first bite when Horvath scored just sevenminutes into the game. In the second half, Ohio again struckquickly when Grein scored her first goal in the first threeminutes, and added her second three minutes later.
"(Horvath's) a good player. She had some attacking chances, andshe was able to put balls in dangerous places," Rainey said.
Ball State had plenty of opportunities to strike back, with 20shots and eight shots on goal, Nocero and Nadalin again led theway, creating shots for teammates, including a nifty Nocero pass toLindsay Wiltshire that led to a header that went wide right of thepost. The problem, Rainey said, was that those scoring chancesweren't in dangerous scoring areas.
Mental breakdowns were also a problem, Rainey said, with thegoals allowed being the result of all 11 players on the field notdefending as well as they could.
"We can't leave people free six yards from the goal and expect(Becker) to bail us out. We have to, as a team, not allow scoringchances," he said.
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