Back on the road for the first time in four weeks, the Ball State University field hockey team dropped a pair of games to Ohio University and Kent State University.
The Cardinals dropped to 2-14 on the season after losing to the Bobcats 5-1 and the Golden Flashes 3-1. Despite the results, coach Annette Payne said she felt her team made improvements from their previous matchup when Ball State lost by a combined 9-0 at home.
"We've made a lot of improvements since we last played them," Payne said. "It's our job to get better throughout the season."
The Cardinals held Debbie Bell, the Mid-American Conference's second leading goal scorer, to one shot. While the shot did find the goal, she recorded a hat trick on Oct. 5 in Muncie.
The Cardinals kept the game close despite Bell's quick goal and entered halftime down 1-0.
"If anything it made us fight harder," Payne said. "It definitely didn't get us down."
Kent State added another goal two minutes into the second half on a penalty corner. The Golden Flashes scored once more to take a 3-0 lead before forward Brooke MacGillivary scored the Cardinals' first goal. The goal was MacGillivary's first of the season. Last year she led the team with 15.
With the win against Ball State, the Golden Flashes clinched their first MAC regular season championship in two years.
Against Ohio, Ball State's lone goal also came off a penalty corner. Forward Casey Hunsicker tied the game at one with her fourth goal. Hunsicker declined an interview request.
Like the Golden Flashes, the Bobcats were able to pull away in the second half.
"In the second half they were able to get behind our defense," Payne said.
Ball State was outshot in the second half by a combined 15-8 margin with five coming against Kent State. For the weekend, the Cardinals had 14 shots from six different players. Payne said that kind of distribution is a good sign for the offense.
"It's important," Payne said. "It's what we're supposed to be doing, getting shots from a variety of different people."
Goalkeeper Tiffany Shifflett reached the 100 save mark against Ohio and finished the weekend with 107 saves. It is the second year in a row Shifflett has had more than 100 saves and is 21 saves from all-time fifth place at Ball State.
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