The Ball State University field hockey team held Ohio University's leading scorer Torrie Albini scoreless throughout regulation and 10 minutes of overtime.
But the Cardinals needed to keep her off of the score sheet a little bit longer.
With fewer than five minutes remaining in the first overtime of the Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship game on Saturday, Albini scored the game-winning goal to give the Bobcats the 2-1 win over the Cardinals and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
"OT is just about offense because there is so much open field, and you just want to let the ball do the work," coach Annette Payne said. "We figured that OU would play big and we tried to attack from the outside."
Trailing 1-0 for most of the second half, Ball State was able to tie the game when midfielder Tara Reed scored with 37 seconds remaining in regulation.
"We played great [Saturday]," Payne said. "The game was definitely back and fourth and the great part was that OU thought it was over and that we scored. That goal was just characteristic of our team and us not giving up."
Having won their third MAC Tournament title, the Bobcats will advance to play the University of California at Berkley in a NCAA Play-in Game on Tuesday.
For the Cardinals this loss ends their season with an 8-12 overall record and a 7-5 MAC record.
"Every single person on this team I'm proud of, and I'm proud to be a part of this team," Payne said. "I'm not going to lie, we wanted to walk away with a championship and take that trip to California, but we played our hearts out [Saturday]."
Along with this game ending the Cardinals 2006 season, it also was the final collegiate game for seniors Lindsay Quay, Carla Chiampi and Reed.
These three players accounted for 71 percent of Ball State's goals this season and were the only players on the team to finish the year with five or more goals.
Also, Quay ended the season with a team-high 14 goals and finishes her four-year career in sixth place on the Ball State all-time scoring list with 37 career goals.
"[Quay, Chiampi and Reed] are tremendous," Payne said. "They have done remarkable things and have shown growth since their first game four years ago and [Saturday's] game. These three individuals have carried the team this year and didn't stop believing in us."
In addition to the seniors, one of the biggest reasons for the Cardinals' advancement to the championship game was due to the play of freshman goalkeeper Caroline Lehman.
Against the Bobcats she made nine saves, including one save in overtime.
Lehman entered the championship game after back-to-back shutouts against Missouri State University and Miami in the semi-finals.
In addition, Lehman made 135 saves this season and finishes at sixth place on the Ball State all-time saves list for a single season.
"Lehman stepped up at the end of the season for us," Payne said. "It was good for her to play like that for our defense."
Despite falling short of her goal of winning a conference championship, Payne said that this season was still very successful and filled with accomplishments.
After starting the season with a 1-9 overall record, the Cardinals won five straight games against MAC opponents and finished the conference regular season with their first winning record since 1999.
Entering the conference tournament, Ball State was the No. 2 seed and defeated Miami University in the semi-finals to win its first tournament game since the 2001 season.
"We came out this season and looked inside of ourselves, and we made things happen," Payne said. "They played for each other and trusted me this year. Sports can be a very powerful thing and we took risks and challenges."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
