Sunday's Scoreboard
Ball State 2, Saint Francis 1
Michigan State 2, Ohio 0
Michigan 8, Central Michigan 0
Stories Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Ball State 2, Saint Francis 1
Box Score
LORETTO, Pa. - Junior Kerrianne McClay saved the day with her game-winning goal Sunday afternoon at Saint Francis University, to give the Cardinals their first win of the season.
Ball State fourth-year head coach Stephanie Bernthal said that the tide would turn for this young Ball State team and today it did. The Cardinals (1-3) chemistry was strong and persistent which entail helped lift BSU past the Red Flash (0-4) with a 2-1 victory in overtime.
"Gritty performance today — another really dominant team performance as far as possession with moments of brilliance on the offensive side of the ball," Bernthal said. "We came out with a fire and refused to let any outside factors defeat us. We've battled through every game early in this season and the beauty of this team is they have come back stronger from each of those. It's forced us to mature fast. We are starting to see the fruit of that. There is a special spirit in this team, and we have a great challenge in front of us with a third game in the weekend at home tomorrow. I know we will be ready."
McClay found the net at the at the 60:37 mark in overtime off a penalty corner. McClay got help from sophomore Paloma Gomez Rengifo. The goal was McClay's first of the season and fourth of her career.
The Cardinals' defense has been relentless all season and after a scoreless first quarter, Rengifo would score the first goal of the day off a solo shot from the far side of the 10-yard line to give BSU a 1-0 edge over the Red Flash. The goal by Rengifo was the first of her career.
Ball State continued to control the field and play aggressively up until the final minute of play when SFU's Eva Valentini found the back of the cage with a shot up the middle that would knot the game at 1-1, to send the contest into overtime.
Both McClay and Rengifo led the Cardinals' offensively today with two shots apiece.
The Ball State field hockey team returns home to the Briner Sports Complex on Monday, Sept. 6 for a 4 p.m. ET game against the Billiken's of Saint Louis.
Michigan State 2, Ohio 0
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio field hockey team (1-3) was defeated by a score of 2-0 by Michigan State (4-0) on Sunday (Sept. 5) afternoon at Pruitt Field.
The Bobcats fell behind in the first half as Merel Hanssen got the ball past Ohio goalkeeper Nele Graner in the eighth minute. The Spartans scored again in the 21st minute on a goal from Isa van der Weij.
Ohio's defense held strong in the second half as the Bobcats didn't allow a goal on seven shots from the Spartans. Graner made four saves in the game, including stopping a one-on-one opportunity, not allowing Michigan State's Hanssen to get a shot off.
"We unfortunately put a lot of pressure on Nele in the first half a little bit too much," head coach Ali Johnstone said. "She was playing well, and she understood how Michigan State plays, so we kept her in for the second half."
Graner and the Ohio defense also shut down nine second-half corners, seven of which came in the third quarter.
Offensively, the Bobcats were led by Kaelyn Long and Jillian Shive, who each put one shot on goal. Forward Katelyn Whittle also fired three shots, but did not record an official shot on goal.
One big takeaway for the Bobcats was to get experience against power five competition before heading into MAC play.
"(Michigan State) is very fast and very strong, so it makes us prepared to play at the speed we need to play in the MAC," Johnstone explained. "They are a really good team and they have really good ball strength, so it's good preparation."
The Bobcats don't start conference play until Sept. 24, but will continue to play nonconference opponents like UC Davis on Wednesday (Sept. 8) at 1 p.m.
Michigan 8, Central Michigan 0
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan field hockey team closed its three-game season-opening home stand with an 8-0 loss to No. 2-ranked Michigan on Sunday at Cristy Freese Field.
The Chippewas are 0-3. They take a trip to the east coast next weekend when they are scheduled to face Dartmouth on Friday, Sept. 10, and Merrimack on Sunday, Sept. 12.
CMU trailed the Wolverines, 2-0, after one quarter and 3-0 at halftime. U-M, the defending national runner-up, finished with a 35-1 advantage in shots and a 16-2 edge in corners.
The Chippewas' lone shot came from Junior Alice O'Hagan in the third quarter.
CMU sophomore goalkeeper Kate Maxim recorded 13 saves.
