With less than three minutes remaining in Ball State field hockey’s first Mid-American Conference (MAC) contest of the season, head coach Caitlin Walsh made the decision to take starting goalkeeper Hannah Johnston out of the match.

Sophomore Nadine Loeps entered the fray and the Cardinals had all 11 players on the main field, trying to give Ball State any opportunity to score. Up to this point, the Cardinals had only earned six shots with just one making it near the cage.

It was for naught, as Ball State just didn’t seem to have enough time to tie the match and send it to overtime. Kent State (1-6, 1-0 MAC) defeated the Cardinals 1-0 for the first win of its season, and the Golden Flashes’ 15th consecutive win against their MAC foe.

Ball State (1-4, 0-1 MAC) only took six shots in 60 minutes of play, something Walsh said was partly thanks to Kent State’s defense, but also because of the Cardinals’ being outnumbered on the offensive end for most of the match.

“A main focus for us moving forward is just getting numbers ahead of the ball so that we have those [scoring] opportunities,” Walsh said. “It's being able to not just defend with numbers, but also be able to join the play forward and challenge them a little bit more.”

Junior Emma van Hal took three of Ball State’s six shots, extending her team-high total to 14. On the defensive side of the ball, the Cardinals are still without 2023 MAC Defensive Player of the Year Michaela Graney due to a broken right pinky finger.

However, despite losing the past two matches after Ball State won its only contest of the young season three matches ago, Walsh feels that the Cardinals defense has responded well to the absence of Graney and their 5-0 blowout loss to Stanford in the second match of the season.
In fact, Walsh called it a success to only surrender one point to the Golden Flashes, and two to the Indiana Hoosiers Sept. 13.

“We're defending more as a team, and we have a lot of members tackling back to support,” Walsh said. “I think everyone's stepped up pretty big for us.”

Lauren Lewis is one such example. The United Kingdom native has started every game for Ball State this season as a freshman and has taken the reins as a defensive-minded midfielder who plays nearly every second of every match to try and prevent the Cardinals’ opponents from reaching their scoring circle.

“I knew going through the recruiting process with her that she would have a pretty big impact for us, but I was not expecting to put a freshman in the center back position,” Walsh said. “The way that she has taken on that role and soaked in all the feedback from us as coaches and also from her teammates has been phenomenal. She's just playing naturally to her ability.”

Walsh said one of the defense’s biggest points of emphasis failed to be met against Kent State, when the Golden Flashes earned a season-high 12 penalty corner shots compared to Ball State’s two. Kent State’s only score of the match came late in the second period on a penalty corner shot, when 2023 MAC Freshman of the Year Eva Usoz slid the ball past Johnston’s right foot to hit the back of the cage.

While Johnston has allowed at least one goal each game this season, she saved nine of 10 shots on goal Friday. Through five matches, Johnston has saved approximately 78 percent of shots on goal, which is on pace to be the highest mark of her five seasons at Ball State.

The Cardinals’ Friday loss means Kent State takes a 20-1 lead in series history, and what’s more, it ends Ball State’s four-year streak of winning its MAC opener.

The Cardinals have not scored a goal in Kent, Ohio, since 2016.

Ball State next takes the pitch Sunday, Sept. 22 at Noon against the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)’s Louisville at 12 p.m. in Muncie’s Briner Sports Complex.

Contact Kyle Smedley via email at kmsmedley213@gmail.com or via X @KyleSmedley_.

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