COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ball State defeated Kent State 1-0 on Saturday at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field to advance to the semifinals in the 2026 MAC Women's Soccer Championship. The six-seeded Cardinals will play second-seeded UMass on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. ET live on ESPN+. 

Mary Jane Keller scored the game's only goal at 7:40, recording her third goal of the season off assists from LG Moncrief and Anna Kate Robillard. The Cardinals held a 1-0 lead at halftime after outshooting the Golden Flashes 3-1 in the opening 45 minutes.

Kent State applied pressure in the second half, holding a 7-5 advantage in shots after halftime, but Ball State goalkeeper Kate Pallante made four second-half saves to preserve the shutout. Pallante turned away a shot from Jules Dolinski at 67:30 before Ava Todd struck the crossbar 21 seconds later. Pallante added another save against Kiyomi McCausland at 72:10.

Both teams finished with eight shots, while Ball State held a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal and a 6-3 edge in corner kicks. Pallante finished with four saves, while Kent State goalkeeper Leah Shaffer recorded six saves.

Keller and Kaelyn Valleau each put two shots on goal for Ball State. Samantha Miller, Dolinski and Abby Breitschuh each recorded two shots for Kent State.

Ball State improved to 8-6-5 overall, while Kent State fell to 7-9-3.