After a change in their defensive formation at halftime, Ball State pulled away from Loyola for a 5-1 win on Sunday, extending its winning streak to five games.The Cardinals went into halftime with a 2-1 lead but Loyola's constant offensive pressure led coach Ron Rainey to make changes to his defense for the second half."After halftime, we went to four players in the midfield instead of three and put two at forward instead of three," Rainey said. "The change really solidified things defensively and put us in a good position."
Ball State went into halftime lucky to have a 2-1 lead. Thirteen minutes into the game, Ball State sophomore Lindsay Martin tried to clear the ball across the field when Loyola goalkeeper Emily Peick accidentally let the ball bounce over her head and into the goal.
"I was trying to send the ball across the field to the other side," Martin said. "When I turned around, everybody started cheering, and I realized I must have scored."
After halftime, Ball State (7-1) capitalized on Loyola's mistakes by scoring three more goals. Rainey said the four-goal win did not give the hard-fought game justice.
"I think it was very equal out there today," Rainey said. "It was really a one-goal game and I think we played that way defensively."
Sophomore midfielder Laura Bandy, who scored one goal in both games over the weekend, said the difference between the two teams came down to taking advantage of scoring chances.
"I thought it was very competitive game between these two teams," Bandy said. "It's just that we were able to capitalize on our chances."
Sunday's win over Loyola was the second victory of the weekend for Ball State. The Cardinals outplayed IUPUI on Friday for a 3-1 win. Ball State out shot IUPUI 27-9, including a 16-4 first half advantage. Rainey said IUPUI adjusted well in the second half to Ball State's aggressive attacking.
"We put them under pressure but they were able to counter better than other teams we've played," Rainey said.
Ball State had a balanced scoring attack in both games. Seven players scored at least one goal over the weekend. Freshman Emily Rein and junior Vandi Ogden, who scored a goal each, led the team in shots with 10 and seven, respectively. Rainey said that his team worked hard to get good shots on goal.
"To our team's credit, we really worked hard in the box to get on the end of serves and put ourselves in scoring positions," Rainey said.
Ball State goalkeeper Alison Becker continued her solid play by picking up 10 saves during the two games, while allowing only two goals. Becker has allowed two goals in the last four games, and only five on the season.
Ball State finished up its non-conference play with Sunday's win. The Cardinals open Mid-American Conference play at Kent State on Friday. Rainey said he believes his team is ready for conference games, but should be aware they are starting from scratch.
"We are seeing things we want to see heading into our second season," Rainey said. "But all the play we've done so far only gets us a 0-0 record to start MAC play."
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