Executing on offensive shots was beginning to become a problem for the Ball State soccer team, and it was something the team wanted to improve on this weekend. By the end of their two games this weekend however, the Cardinals looked like a team that never had any offensive woes.
"We were nice and composed in our scoring chances this weekend," coach Ron Rainey said. "We did the basics of just putting the ball past the goalkeeper and past the defenders, and that was great."
Ball State blanked Wright State yesterday with a 2-0 win, and rolled over IPFW in a 6-1 win on Friday, bringing the Cardinals to a 5-1 record on the season.
Ball State's improved ability to finish with the ball helped them have an offensive advantage over both teams. Senior Krista Mitts said that practicing on how to finish with the ball last week paid dividends in this weekend's games.
"Our finishing this weekend was just phenomenal," Mitts said. "We were really tough in the midfield and forward positions at getting after the ball."
The Cardinals were outshot by Wright State 10-7 but Ball State played good enough defense in the box to keep those shots from becoming scores.
"They were definitely physically bigger than us but we played in the back very competitive and stopped their scoring chances," Mitts said.
The Cardinals were led this weekend by strong offensive performances from sophomore Sarah Leibel and senior Lindsay Wiltshire, who each scored two goals over the weekend. Both of Leibel's goals came against IPFW within a span of the three minutes in the first half.
Wiltshire also contributed during that three minute span by scoring her first goal of the season, one minute after Leibel's first goal. The goal came on a penalty kick after freshman Emily Rein and IPFW goalie Shannon Lynn collided near the goal. During the collision, Lynn pulled Rein by her hair to the ground and Lynn was quickly handed a yellow card.
Wiltshire, who scored four goals last season, said she felt a relief after scoring her first goal of this season.
"There was a little pressure to get a goal, and now that's lifted," Wiltshire said.
The Cardinals found themselves up 5-0 by halftime against IPFW, allowing for many unproven players to get playing time in the second half. Rainey said he was pleased with what he saw.
"One of our strengths this year is that we're very deep, and, in that second half, we kept up our aggressiveness and solid play," Rainey said. "Whoever is on the field, we have to keep our level high, and we did that."
Freshman defender Jen Vilkoski, a starter this year, went down with a torn ACL injury against IPFW with 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Rainey said a surgery date has not been set and she is currently out indefinitely.
DELAY OF GAME
Wright State was forced to delay yesterday's game a half hour due to Ball State arriving late. Rainey said the team was forced to change buses 45 minutes before game time due to a diesel fuel leak on the bus. Rainey said he was impressed with how his team stayed mentally prepared for the game.
"The mental toughness we showed today just really impressed me," Rainey said. "We put everything that happened before the game behind us and just played tough."
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