Ball State Soccer traveled to Macomb, Illinois, Sunday and tied with Western Illinois 1-1 after double overtime.
Senior Allison Abbe scored the equalizer within two minutes of the start of the second half. She took the ball unassisted and scored on the right side of the field inside the box. Head coach Craig Roberts said if his whole team had the heart and desire Abbe does, they will be back into the win column.
“Her hustle and work rate at the time was outstanding, but we just needed that little bit more from one or two others and we will be back to winning ways,” Roberts said. “She will lead by example, and the other players will see that and will replicate what she does.”
Even though the Cardinals did not come out with a loss, head coach Craig Roberts felt as if it was one for the team. The Cardinals created opportunities but never converted them.
“Walking away with a tie, we took some lessons from the game. Overall, we are disappointed with the performance,” Roberts said. “Just felt that we needed to show more maturity and more effectiveness in the last third in today’s game. I was disappointed with the outcome of the game and with the outcome of some of the performances.”
Roberts said it’s all mental for his players at this point. The struggles are something the Cardinals can easily fix, but the drive to do so needs to be there.
“At the end of the day, it will be up to the mindset about completing the task and having that strong mindset to finish the products and the drive to do that,” Roberts said. “They know what they need to do. They just need to execute it.”
The Cardinals will play Nebraska-Omaha next on Sept. 14 at 5 p.m. at the Briner Sports Complex in Muncie.
Contact Olivia Adams with comments at omadams@bsu.edu or on Twitter @olivia_adams5.
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