OXFORD, Ohio – The Ball State soccer team picked up its second straight Mid-American Conference victory and first road league win of the season Friday afternoon as the Cardinals used two first half goals to post a 2-1 victory over rival Miami at the Miami Soccer Field. The victory improves the Cardinals to 7-4-1 on the year, which matches their win total from last season, and 2-1-0 in MAC play.

                Ball State came out of the gate quickly registering the first four shots of the afternoon in the opening 10 minutes of play. The Cardinals’ offensive pressure early led to the game’s first goal in the 11^th minute of play as BSU was awarded a free kick just outside the 18-yard box.

                Junior forward Paige Stroinski (Granger, Ind./Penn) stepped up on the set piece and sent a ball into the box. Junior defender Brigit Reder (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) ran onto the end of the pass and drilled a header into the back of the net past Miami goalkeeper Allison Norenberg for the 1-0 lead.

The goal was Reder’s team-leading sixth of the season and maintains her lead as the highest scoring defender in the MAC this season. Her six goals score this season already are tied for 10^th most in a single season in Ball State history and the most by a BSU defender in a single season in program history.

                Ball State built off the momentum from its strong start to generate its second goal of the game in the 22^nd minute. Freshman forward Jasmine Moses (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) found some space in the Miami defense and drilled a shot from 25-yards out into the upper corner of the net past Norenberg for the 2-0 lead. The goal is the fifth of the season for Moses, which ranks second on the team.

                Miami came close to scoring in the 31^st minute as it settled in and started to produce some dangerous attacks. The RedHawks sent a corner kick into the box where Sarah Dessfelt was able to rip a shot off but the Cardinals’ defense cleared the ball off the line for a team save to keep the two-goal lead.

                Ball State held a 7-6 edge in shots in the first half as it used its strong start to control the tempo. Miami regrouped at halftime and came out of the break the aggressor. The RedHawks out-shot the Cardinals 9-5 in the second half and generated seven corner kicks as they battled to get back into the game.

                Miami finally broke through against junior goalkeeper Aubrey Buehler (Waukesha, Wis./UT-Martin) in the 78^th minute of action. Kelsey Dinges found an opening in the Cardinals’ defense and ripped a shot from just inside the 18-yard box past Buehler to trim the Ball State lead down to one at 2-1.

                The Cardinals were able to maintain their lead down the stretch to preserve their second straight MAC victory. Buehler posted  a season-high seven saves in the victory as the Cardinals snapped a two-game losing streak to the RedHawks and improved to 8-6-1 all-time against Miami.

                Ball State returns to action Sunday afternoon as it travels to Bowling Green, Ohio, to take on the Falcons. Game time is set for 3 p.m.

 

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