Final Stats

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MUNCIE, Ind. â€" The Ohio women’s soccer team continued Mid-American Conference play on the road on Sunday (Oct. 11), falling to Ball State by a final of 2-1.

“Ball State is a good team and they deserve to be 6-0 and leading the league right now,” head coach Aaron Rodgers said. “I felt like we played with some good heart and some good passion. We came out and scored early, which was great. We kind of died off a little bit after they scored and they scored a goal to make it 1-1 at half time. In the second half it was more of just a competitive game. There was not a lot of great soccer, it was a fight and a battle. They scored on a penalty that the girl put away nicely.”

The Bobcats (4-9-0, 2-4 MAC) struck first early on, taking a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute when freshman Stephanie Rowland (Pewee Valley, Ky.) scored off a black shot by sophomore Hannah Jaggers (Taylorsville, Ky.). The goal was Rowland’s fifth of the season and Jaggers registered her second assist of the season.

Ball State (10-2-2, 6-0 MAC) responded in the 24^th minute when Lorina White scored when the ball deflected off of freshman keeper Taylor Smith’s (Uniontown, Ohio) hands, tying the game at 1-1.

In the first half, Ohio registered three shots with one of them on goal. Jaggers registered two shots, while Rowland had one. Ball State registered 12 first half shots, with seven of them on goal.

Smith registered six saves in the first half, allowing one goal.

The teams entered the second half tied at 1-1 and would remain tied for the majority of the second half, however Ball State would take the lead when Chelsy Swackhamer connected on a penalty kick, giving the Cardinals a 2-1 lead and victory.

Overall, Ohio registered 10 shots with four of them on goal. Redshirt junior Holly Harris (Batavia, Ohio) led the team with three total shots with two of them on goal. Jaggers and Rowland each added two shots, Rowland adding two on goal and a goal. Sophomore Celeste Fushimi-Karns (Dublin, Ohio), redshirt junior Carly Manso (Vernon Hills, Ill.) and freshman Madelyn Kah (Hamilton, Ohio) all had one shot.

Keeper Smith faced 20 shots, 10 of them on goal. She allowed two goals and registered eight saves in her 90 minutes of work.

“I hate to repeat myself, but like I said Friday, we haven’t found our final gear yet,” Rodgers said. “We played the best team in the league right now at their place and they had to hang on to beat us. We created chance after chance at the end of the game and we still haven’t found our final gear yet. Once we find that gear, we’re going to be a very good team.”

Ohio returns to Athens next weekend when they take on Eastern Michigan on Friday, Oct. 16. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at Chessa Field. The Bobcats will then face Bowling Green on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 1 p.m.

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