Following Sunday's soccer game, senior Lindsay Martin smiled and even jumped up and down as she went around retelling her story from the game.
The defender scored the goal that gave Ball State University a 1-0 win against Miami University in the first round of the Mid-American Conference tournament at the Ball State Soccer Field.
"I don't think I've ever been more excited in my life," Martin said.
It was the first points of the season for Martin and the second goal of her Ball State career. However, she said her previous goal, which she scored her sophomore year, was not as good because it just bounced over the goalkeeper.
Sunday's win was big for Ball State because of the recent history between Ball State and Miami, Martin said. Last year the RedHawks defeated the Cardinals in the first round of the MAC tournament.
"We've been talking about having some unfinished business with them," she said. "[Sunday] we just wanted to kill them. We just wanted to beat them so bad. We knew we wanted to send them a message."
Martin's goal came as junior Katelyn Alexander passed the ball to her off a corner kick on the opposite side of the net in the 57th minute.
"Lindsay Martin being a senior captain stepped up in a key moment and found the back of the net for us today," coach Michelle Salmon said.
Not only did Martin step up, Salmon said, the Cardinals got a lot of support from their freshmen and bench players.
With senior forward Sarah Leibel and junior forward Emily Rein, two of the team's leading scorers out because of injuries from Thursday's game at Miami, the Cardinals had to find other players to fill the voids.
Freshman Jacki Eft started for Leibel and sophomore Megan Ridley came in after Rein exited four minutes into the game.
Junior Bailey Decker and freshmen Meg Mellott and Claire Richardson also entered the game contributed for the Cardinals.
"Bench play down the stretch is the key component to a successful championship run, and our bench play right now is playing outstanding," Salmon said.
Ball State also adjusted its roster by moving junior Annie Aiello from the midfield to defense about 20 minutes into the game and subsequently moving freshman Kristina Anderson from defense to forward.
"I wanted to establish our midfield play, really get into a rhythm in the midfield," Salmon said. "Annie Aiello does that for us."
Anderson is versatile enough to play anywhere on the field and the move added an element of surprise, Salmon said. Though she played forward in high school and is listed as a forward, Anderson has started most of the season for the Cardinals' defense.
The ability to move players around and have others come off the bench is a big reason for Ball State's success, Salmon said.
"When you're in tournament play you rely so much on players that come in and off the bench," Salmon said. "{Sunday] the difference maker was how well we played coming off the bench."
The Cardinals might continue to need their bench with the injuries to Rein and Leibel.
Leibel will be reevaluated after the team gets the results from her MRI Tuesday, Salmon said.
Rein left Sunday's game because she had limited mobility with her injured ankle and the team wants to make sure she can play in other tournament games, Salmon said. Rein is day-to-day and will likely be back for Friday's game, Salmon said.
Friday's game will be the MAC tournament semi-finals against Bowling Green State University. The game will be at 2 p.m., following the University of Toledo-Northern Illinois University semi-final game. The remainder of the MAC tournament will be at the Ball State Soccer Field because of Ball State's home field advantage for winning the regular season title.
Martin said she is excited for the rest of the tournament, especially since it is in Muncie.
"It's great especially since we have great fans who come out to our games and it's just going to be a great environment for us to play in," she said. "There's nothing better than playing at home, especially at Ball State."
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