Oct. 9, 2011
Final Stats
MUNCIE, Ind. - Ohio Soccer capped off its longest road trip of the 2011 season with a 1-1 draw at Ball State on Sunday. The Bobcats went ahead in the eighth minute courtesy of Kelsey Pichel's fourth goal of the season but the Cardinals answered back early in the second half, scoring the equalizing goal in the 47th minute.
Ohio remains atop the Mid-American Conference East following the weekend's action, as the 'Cats still possess the highest conference winning percentage in the division.
Even though only two goals were scored in the match, the teams combined for a total of 58 shots. Ball State (9-4-2, 4-1-1 MAC) outshot the Bobcats, 40-18. Mattie Liston made 11 saves for the Bobcats, working well with the defense to keep the Cardinals at bay.
"Mattie made some good saves for us and we had some good team defending," said Head Coach Stacy Strauss. "I felt like the shot total was a little misleading because we made them shoot from bad areas, poor angles and from far away. That said, they certainly had their chances and we did a good job not losing our composure."
The Green and White (6-7-1, 3-2-1 MAC) got off to a very good start on Sunday, taking an early 1-0 lead when Pichel (Rochester, Mich. ) hit a good shot from 18 yards out to beat goalkeeper Aubrey Buehler. Pichel's goal was her fourth of the season and was assisted by teammates Erin Schwenke (Solon, Ohio) and Kim Nordtveit (Newton, Pa.).
Ball State was able to equalize at the beginning of the second half, finding the back of the net in the 47th minute when Jasmine Moses was able to put a shot from 10 yards out past Liston. The goal was Moses' seventh of the season and was assisted by Shaniece Thorpe and Ellie Chadick.
Following the equalizing goal, Ball State stepped up the pressure in the search of goal which would take the lead. The Cardinals fired five shots in a two-minute span, three of which were on target and stopped by Mattie Liston (Lakewood, Ohio).
Ninety minutes was not enough to decide the match, as the teams went to overtime in the midst of a 1-1 deadlock. The Bobcats picked up the intensity in the first overtime period, mustering three shots. Ball State controlled much of the second overtime period, testing the Ohio defense on multiple occasions. The Bobcats had one last chance to score the game-winner when Katie Kemen (Cincinnati, Ohio) fired a shot wide of the target with two seconds remaining.
"It's nice to have this tough trip behind us," said Strauss. "I think that if we continue to improve with each game we have a great shot at staying atop the MAC East."
The Bobcats will next be in action on Friday, Oct. 14 against Miami. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at Chessa Field.
Goals:
Ohio - Kelsey Pichel 4 (Erin Schwenke 2, Kim Nordtveit 1) 8'
Ball State - Jasmine Moses 7 (Shaniece Thorpe 2, Ellie Chadick 3) 47'
Bookings:
Ohio - Kelsey Pichel 99'
Ohio starting XI (numerically): Mattie Liston (GK), Kelsey Pichel, Cathryn Rogers, Paige Howard, Kim Nordtveit, Erin Schwenke, Ainsley Bodi, Rachael Philpot, Katie Kemen, Remi Famodu , Toye Famodu
