MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State soccer team rallied with three second half goals to tie Mid-American Conference foe Bowling Green 3-3 in double overtime Sunday afternoon at the BSU Soccer Field. The Cardinals trailed 2-0 early in the second half before running off three unanswered goals while BGSU tied the game in the 83rd minute to secure the tie.

“I was really proud of our team for fighting back and playing with a lot of heart today,” head coach Craig Roberts said. “We played with a lot of confidence in the second half to rally back and we have had a lot of different people step up their play in light of all of our injuries.”

The back-and-forth contest saw a combined 48 shots with the Cardinals holding a 27-21 edge in shots. BSU also held a 10-2 edge on corner kicks, with seven of the corner kicks coming in the second half as the Cardinals were in the midst of their rally.

Bowling Green (4-9-2, 2-3-2 MAC) opened the scoring in the 39th minute of play. Keely Chandler was the recipient of a strong passing sequence from the Falcons as she ran onto the end of a cross and volleyed the ball into the back of the net from six yards out. BGSU extended the lead to 2-0 with a goal in the 54th minute of play as Jackie Tamerlano sent a ball into the box that was misplayed by BSU goalkeeper Aubrey Buehler (Waukesha, Wis./UT-Martin).

Ball State (6-7-1, 0-5-1 MAC) started their rally in the 61st minute of play as the Cardinals were on the attack. BSU sent a corner kick into the box where sophomore Brigit Reder (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) was able to send a header to the near post. The BGSU defender on the goal line was called for a hand ball and the Cardinals were awarded a penalty kick.

Sophomore forward Paige Stroinski (Granger, Ind./Penn) stepped forward to take the penalty kick but her initial shot was saved by BGSU goalkeeper Alexa Arsenault. Stroinski kept herself in the play as she pounced on the rebound and deposited it into the back of the net to narrow the gap to 2-1.

The Cardinals tied the game in the 78th minute off of a free kick. Senior Tina Vannatta (Powhatan, Va./Springboro) sent the kick into the box where sophomore forward Shaniece Thorpe (Westmoreland, Jamaica/WVIT) was able to flick the ball into the back of the net with a header to bring the game to 2-2.

Ball State didn’t waste time taking the lead as it scored just 2:20 later as Vannatta was in the midst of the action once again. She sent a cross into the box where senior midfielder Missy Gordon (Carmel, Ind./Marshall) was able to rip a shot into the top left corner past Arsenault for the 3-2 BSU lead.

Bowling Green kept battling as it found the equalizer off of a free kick in the 83rd minute of play. The Falcons sent the ball into the box and had multiple shots on goal. Buehler was able to make the first two saves but the Falcons converted on their third attempt as Alyssa Zucaro poked the rebound into the back of the net to knot the game at 3-3.

The Falcons came within inches of securing the victory in the 90th minute of play as Katie Stephenson ripped a shot during a flurry that senior Cortney Coombs (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) was able to clear off the end line to send the game into extra time. The two teams went back-and-forth in the two extra frames but neither team had a strong chance before time expired after 110 minutes of play.

Stroinski finished the game with a career-high three points while Vannatta added two assists to finish the weekend with four points. Buehler posted seven saves in 110 minutes of play while Arsenault finished the game with nine saves.

Ball State returns to action next weekend on the road as the Cardinals travel to Buffalo Friday night at 7 p.m.