The result of Sunday's alumni game left the Ball State University soccer team a little disappointed.
The Cardinals could not score a goal Sunday as their game against the program's alumni ended in a scoreless tie to end the team's spring season.
"You say you want to have fun," midfielder Annie Aiello said, "but secretly you want to get the W but a tie's fine. I'm not too mad."
Ball State outshot the alumni team 7-2 in the first half but could not connect on any of the chances. Amy Cleeter, a current Cardinal goalkeeper, recorded three saves in the first half for the alumni team as it did not have a natural goalkeeper. Rachael Murphy saved both of the alumni's attempts in the first half for the Cardinals.
In the second half, Cleeter and Murphy switched sides and again kept the game scoreless. Murphy recorded three saves in the second half while Cleeter had one as the Cardinals outshot the alumni 7-1 in the half.
"Obviously I would have liked to have seen some goals, but we came into this game knowing that it was for fun, it was for fellowship, to be with family and friends and put on a good show for our home crowd," coach Michael Lovett said.
In Ball State's six spring games, the team's goalkeepers limited their opponents to one goal as the Cardinals went 3-1-2. The University of Illinois, which finished the 2007 season No. 24 in the Soccerbuzz national rankings, scored one goal on the Cardinals in the final 10 minutes of the game Saturday to win 1-0.
"We gave up one goal all spring and it was the game we lost," Lovett said. "If we give up one goal in six games, I'm happy with that every time. They've been phenomenal all spring, and they really make me look forward to the fall."
Lovett said he was happy with the way his team came out against Illinois and played aggressive. A lot of mid-major teams play conservative against the major schools, he said, but the Cardinals attacked and threw Illinois for a loop.
Aiello, who will be a senior in the fall season, said the Illinois game was a good way to end the spring season on a high note.
"Even though it was a loss, it was a great game of soccer," she said. "It could have gone either way."
Lovett said he has not been able to implement his full offense since he was hired as the Cardinals' coach March 3. He instilled the system, which is defense oriented and attack minded, Saturday and the team fed off it despite not being able to convert its chances, he said.
In its other spring games, Ball State beat the University of Indianapolis, Oakland University and Wright State University and tied Xavier University.
With the completion of his first spring season with Ball State, Lovett said, he is feeling good about entering the fall season.
"After a loss you never feel good but they came off the bench and were like 'guys, we played great,' and for them to say that after a hard fought loss, says a lot about how they feel going into the fall," Lovett said.
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