Faulkner and Hofmann lead Field Hockey past Ball State 6-4
10/13/2012 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
KENT, Ohio -- Kent State came away victorious in their last Mid-American Conference home game of the season, defeating the Ball State Cardinals 6-4. The win for the Golden Flashes pushed their record to (6-10; 2-1 MAC) while Ball State will drop to (3-11; 0-4 MAC).
Though this game started as a tightly contested match, it did not last for long, as sophomore Hannah Faulkner (Edwardsville, Ill.) scored in the 10th minute of play off of a long pass from sophomore Julia Hofmann (Bad Muenster, Germany) for her third goal of the year. Determined to make her presence felt, Faulkner once again put the ball into the net after receiving a pass from the baseline just 11 minutes later.
After seeing their opponent jump out to an early 2-0 lead Ball State came back with solid play of their own, scoring goals in the 26th and 36th minute to even the score 2-2. However, the Cardinals momentum would not last for long. Junior Rebecca Lee (Bathurst, Austrailia) corraled a rebound and delivered it into the goal in the 42nd minute, giving Kent State the lead once again.
The Cardinals did well at playing catch-up early, as they again tied the game with a goal of their own just two minutes later, making the score 3-3. Play went back and forth for another 11 minutes before Kent State's leading goal scorer, Hofmann, gavethe Golden Flashes the lead for good. Hofmann received the ball off of a penalty corner, but was unable to handle it at first, she then regained control and sent a strike past the Ball State goalie and just like that Kent State was up 4-3.
Knowing that the Cardinals had come back from deficits twice already in this contest, the Golden Flashes were not content with their one goal lead. While keeping up their aggresive play Hofmann once again found herself in range of the net, however, while charging forward she was tripped up by the defense and was awarded a penalty shot. Hofmann made the most of the opportunity and scored her 12th goal of the year. The lead grew to 5-3 in the 61st minute.
Freshman Karleigh Carlin (Drexel Hill, Pa.) put the final goal on the board for Kent State in the 62nd minute after being fed from Lee on the right side. It was her fourth score of the year. Ball State hoped to come back from their three goal deficit, scoring their fourth goal of the day in the 66th minute, but the Cardinals ultimately ran out of time.
The Golden Flashes will return to the field tomorrow, Sunday, October 14 at 12:00 p.m where they will face Michigan State at Murphy-Mellis Field. It is the final home game of the season for the team.
