After falling to No. 16 Boston University on Saturday, Ball State field hockey looked to split the Miami Invitational against UMass-Lowell, but the Cardinals fell to the River Hawks 2-1 in overtime on Sunday afternoon.
Ball State was outshot for the second-straight game, as UMass-Lowell tallied 15 shots to the Cardinals’ 8. Freshman goalkeeper Grace Chavez made six saves for Ball State in the loss. BSU managed just 3 shots on goal.
“We were on the back foot the entire game yesterday and we were so defensive minded,” Head coach Christy Longacre said. “Last night we talked about being on the front foot of the game, attacking them and getting scoring opportunities.”
Both teams earned penalty corners throughout the game, with the first half seeing a combined six corners, but the score was deadlocked at zero.
In the second half, Sophomore Michelle Shampton netted her second goal of the season to give the Cardinals a 1-0 early in the half. Lowell would tie it up later in the half off a penalty corner.
“When the score is tight like this we want to keep possession of the ball and play our game.” Longacre said. “When we’re up with a 1-0 we want to keep the ball outside. There is no reason to push it towards the middle. In doing that we don’t have to worry about them scoring.”
The Cardinals would hold off a final minute Lowell scare to push the game to overtime. In overtime, Lowell would jump on the Cardinals quick scoring 1:19 into overtime to end the game. The Cardinals finished the game with eight shots and four penalty corners.
“Communication from the back and telling the defense where girls should be marking up on has contributed to way I play each game,” Chavez said. “Communication is one of the most important factors on the field. You have to be all in or you’re just going to break down completely.”
The Cardinals walk away from the Miami tournament with a 0-2 record. Ball State will head out east next weekend to take on LaSalle and Lehigh. According to Longacre, a key factor in finding success next weekend is the team’s readiness to play.
“We need to show up next weekend,” Longacre said. “Both games this weekend we didn’t show up in the first half and I was a little disappointed on that. We were comfortable and confidant last weekend and this weekend I’m not sure what happened.”
Ball State stays on the road, playing LaSalle and Lehigh next weekend in Pennsylvania.
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