University of Louisville
Ball State
Field Hockey Tops Ball State 3-2
October 18, 2003 | Field Hockey
Oct. 18, 2003
MUNCIE, Ind. - The University of Louisville field hockey team defeated Mid-American Conference opponent Ball State 3-2 Saturday at Ball State's Turf Field.
Junior Suzanne Irwin scored her first goal of the season off of an assist from senior Shelby Summers to put Louisville on the board 11:10 into the contest. Ball State responded 2:17 later when Afton Hess converted a penalty corner with assists from Kirsty Houghton and Becky Weaver. The teams went into halftime with the score knotted at 1-1.
The game remained tied until Louisville junior Kim Hughes netted an unassisted goal to put her team ahead 2-1 at the 44:26 mark in the game. Freshman Carrie Jackson posted her first collegiate goal when she tipped a shot by senior Olivia Netzler to give U of L a 3-1 lead in the 53rd minute.
Ball State's Jen Strodel narrowed the score to 3-2 when she connected on a feed from Hess with just 21 seconds remaining, but U of L held on to win the game despite one more threat from BSU in the closing seconds of the contest.
The teams were even with 14 shots each, but BSU held a 10-7 advantage in penalty corners. Louisville goalkeeper senior Christy Hershey posted seven saves, while Ball State goalie Tracy Bannister had five stops in the contest. BSU falls to 7-9 (4-3 MAC).
Louisville (8-7, 4-3) will be back in action when it plays host to No. 18 California, Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 1:00 p.m. at Trager Stadium.
