Eastern women’s soccer conceded three goals in the second half, losing 4-0 to Ball State Sunday afternoon at Lakeside Field.
In the 25th minute, Ball State University senior forward Addie Chester scored a goal off of a rebound after her initial shot was blocked.
While Eastern (1-3) tried to mount a comeback through the rest of the game, the loss was sealed in the 66th minute when Cardinal senior midfielder Tori Monaco turned in a corner kick from freshman midfielder Jess Ferau.
Ball State (1-2) scored two more goals in the last 10 minutes. The first from senior forward Emily Roper with Chester grabbing an assist in the 82nd minute and her second goal of the game in the 86th minute after firing a shot into the top right corner of the goal.
“Our seniors played great today,” said Ball State head coach Andy Stoots, who won his first game as head coach of the program. “We wanted to put them under pressure, and we wanted them to be a little more compact defensively.”
The best chance of the day for Eastern came in the 19th minute when junior forward Abby Reinl got in on goal in the 19th minute from a through ball from junior forward Alex Tetteh. Her shot was blocked by Ball State graduate goalkeeper Abby Jenkins. The Panthers would knock on the door multiple times, but they weren’t able to finish.
“The first half is what we hang our hat on” said Eastern head coach Dirk Bennett. “We have to be more efficient if we have chances to score a goal. We got to make sure we at least force a really good save.”
Eastern held possession, for the majority of the game with it being 52 percent for Eastern against Ball State’s 48 percent. Ball State was forcing the Panthers into playing defensively, with 68 percent of the Cardinals possession in Eastern’s half of the field. The Cardinals’ possession in that area of the field allowed them to create more chances. Eastern was outshot by Ball State 15-8, and the Cardinals hit the target with 10 of their shots compared to Eastern’s four shots on target.
Tetteh received a yellow card in the 85th minute. A total of 14 fouls went against Ball State and nine against Eastern in a physical game where both teams were prioritizing defense.
For the second time this week, freshman defender Adison Welsh played a 90-minute game alongside fellow sophomore center back Colleen Bauer this is only her third appearance of the season. Redshirt freshman defender Amanda Pankiewicz made her first ever appearance for the Panthers as she started the second half and played 28 minutes.
Eastern will play Valparaiso away from home on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Emerson Reynolds can be reached at 581-2812 or at etreynolds@eiu.edu.
