Ball State's performance at Illinois put things back into perspective.
After three wins to start the season, the Cardinals suffered their first loss in dominating fashion 3-0 to the Illini.
Illinois controlled the game from the beginning, scoring two first-half goals. Illinois finished with a 20-6 shot advantage.
The Cardinals entered Sunday's match with two straight shutouts, and Ball State allowed only one goal in its season-opening win against Xavier.
"In soccer you need to come to play all 90 minutes, especially with so little opportunities to score," senior midfielder Cortney Coombs said. "We didn't bring our best game and failed to do that today."
Craig Roberts lost his first match as Ball State coach. He was unavailable for comment.
Matching up against one of the best teams in the Big Ten Conference, Ball State can use the match as a measuring stick for the rest of the season.
"We wanted to come out of this one with a big win, but we will use it as a learning experience," Coombs said. "We have some weaknesses to adjust, so we will come back and watch film and learn. It is also better that we got out our first loss before conference starts."
Ball State has four road matches before returning to Muncie for its next home game, which will be the Mid-American Conference opener against Western Michigan on Sept. 24.
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