MUNCIE, Ind. – Toledo put up a strong fight on Thursday afternoon against Mid-American Conference West Division preseason favorite Ball State but ended up on the short end of a 2-0 decision to the Cardinals. The contest was the opening match for both squads in their 2021 spring seasons.

"We started out slow today on the road and got caught early by an experienced and talented Ball State team," Head Coach TJ Buchholz said. "After we settled down, we played much better in the second half. I was proud of our team's effort in the second half to get back into the game."

Ball State struck first 19:28 into the contest when senior Shelby Kean headed in a corner kick from junior Lexy Smith.  The Cardinals added another goal less than six minutes later when junior Tatiana Mason got behind the Rocket defense to score.

Toledo registered five shots and limited the Cardinals to eight.  Redshirt freshman Emma Boutorwick made her collegiate debut and recorded three saves, including a diving stop at the 62' mark on a shot from 2019 first-team All-MAC honoree Nicky Potts.

The Rockets registered their best scoring chance when senior Sophia Lewis was denied by Ball State's senior goalkeeper Maitane Bravo in the second half.

Boutorwick was one of five Rockets making their first collegiate start. She was joined by freshman Caylee Jozefov, freshman Rachel Kraysovic, sophomore Vanessa Jones and freshman Ellie Pool.

"We had a lot of young players play today and they did well," Buchholz said. "Now we have to bounce back and be ready to play a good NIU team on Sunday." 

Toledo will host the Huskies on Sunday, March 7 at 1:00 p.m. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+ and can be seen locally on BCSN. General public attendance will not be permitted at Hotmer Field this season.