The Ball State field hockey team had a rough homestand over the weekend, losing both of its matches to fall to 3-6 on the season.
Compared to the past few matches, the Cardinals were much more offensive and forced the pressure onto their opponents.
Ball State outmatched the competition with 27 shots on goal over two games, compared to just 15 from its opponents. Despite the offensive aggressiveness, the Cardinals were outscored 6-3 because of a failure to put points on the board.
"We need to score goals, that's the missing piece," head coach Beth Maddox said. "I think consistency is the element that we're missing at the moment."
The Cardinals had a tough, 4-3 shootout loss to Saint Louis on Sept. 28, after leading 3-0 earlier in the game.
"I think that the girls just weren't ready today and weren't consistent," Maddox said. "The inconsistencies with their play is what caused the problem, I don't think it had anything to do with us playing yesterday."
Looking at the Ball State team that started 3-0 at the beginning of the year, inconsistency has cost the Cardinals in six straight losses.
In each of the first three games, Ball State started off with a strong lead and never let its opponent get back in the game. Sept. 28 marked the first time this season when Ball State scored first in the game and then lost.
Statistically, the Cardinals have kept pace with almost every team they've played. However, the team has been unable to capitalize in key situations.
On Sept. 27, Ball State outshot Central Michigan 11 to four, but the Cardinals couldn't find a way to score. Central Michigan was able to make two shots, winning 2-0.
The weekend homestand was a microcosm of Ball State's past six games.
"In the first three games we worked hard the entire game, we worked together," Maddox said. "We've shown that we cannot do that for 70 minutes and that's the issue at hand."
Ball State return to action on Oct. 3 when they travel to Iowa City to take on Iowa (7-2) at 8 p.m. Ball State is 0-3 against Big Ten competition this season.
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