Final Stats
TOLEDO, OH - Dee Nocero's goal with just under three minutes remaining in the match lifted Ball State to a 2-1 win over the Toledo women's soccer team Friday afternoon. The Mid-American Conference match was held at the newly renovated Scott Park.
The win lifted the Cardinals' records to 7-2-4 overall and 3-2-4 in MAC play, while the Rockets dropped to 5-5-2 and 2-3-1, respectively.
"Despite not getting the win, I thought we played well," Toledo Head Coach Brad Evans said. "We just weren't able to find a way to get a positive result. Ball State is a tough team to breakdown, but I thought we did alright with that."
The visitors started the scoring nearly two-thirds of the way through the opening half on the first of Nocero's two tallies. The Cardinals' forward won a free ball at the 30 yard-yard line and had plenty of room to shoot. Nocero converted, putting a shot high into the net past the outstretched arms of UT sophomore goalkeeper Jen Whipple at the 27:04 mark.
In the second half, the Rockets had the better of the play for the first 25 minutes. The ball was in the BSU defensive end of the field for nearly that entire stretch, and it finally paid off for the Midnight Blue and Gold at the 67:31 mark.
Sophomore Andrea Burtscher fed the ball to classmate Diana Ginley over the last line of the Ball State defense. Ginley took a dribble and beat BSU goalkeeper Alison Becker far post for her team-leading fourth goal of the season and the equalizer.
"We talked all week in practice about getting the ball behind the defense," Evans said. "I thought their central defender and goalkeeper each hesitated a little and that proved to be the difference. Diana completed her run and finished well with a good shot to the back-post."
UT continued to apply the pressure for the next 10-15 minutes, but on one of Ball State's few counterattacks past midfield, the Cardinals found success. After claiming a free ball about 45 yards from the UT goal, Nocero utilized her speed and split a pair of Rocket defenders and slid a shot past Whipple for the eventual game winner at the 87:44 mark.
The Rockets applied pressure until the bitter end, but could not get another ball past Becker. Becker made six saves, including five in the second half, to earn the win.
At the other end, Whipple also made six saves in net, including a pair of acrobatic diving stops. The Cardinals held a 12-9 advantage in shots, but UT outshot the visitors by a 7-6 margin in the second half.
Toledo returns to action on Sunday, Oct. 10 when it hosts Miami in league action. Game time is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Scott Park.
Ball State 2, TOLEDO 1
BSU: D. Nocero (Unassisted), 27:04
UT: D. Ginley (Burtscher), 67:31
BSU: D. Nocero (Unassisted), 87:44
SHOTS: UT 9, BSU 12
CORNER KICKS: UT 4, BSU 5
SAVES: UT 6, BSU 6
FOULS: UT 10, BSU 11
