MUNCIE, Ind. – Ball State forward Abbey Main negated a dominant effort with just one shot, driving home the game-winner in the 51st minute to help the Cardinals overcome a 70-minute onslaught by the Lancers, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at BSU Turf Field.
 
Main's go-ahead score came after nearly 30 minutes of deadlocked hockey and gave the defensive-minded Cardinals (6-7, 1-1 MAC) all the cushion they needed to hold off one of the top 25 scoring teams in the nation.
 
"To be as dominant as we were in that game and come away with a loss is very tough for the team," said head coach Iain Byers. "We should have executed better on a number of our chances. I think the game was there to be taken."
 
In a clash between one of the MAC's most high-powered offenses and stingiest defenses, it was Ball State's backline that proved immovable, eking out the one-goal win despite being outshot 14-5. Ball State's opportunism was the difference, however, climbing out of an early 1-0 hole thanks to a 21st-minute equalizer from Merinda Morely and Main's game-winner 16 minutes into the second half.
 
Key to Ball State's survival was the pressure applied to the two-headed Longwood (6-7, 0-2 MAC) attack of Edel Nyland and Leonie Verstraete, who combined for just six shots despite entering the matchup as two of the NCAA's top goal scorers. Those two found little opportunity against a Ball State team that has allowed just 2.60 goals per game, tied with Longwood for the third-lowest mark in the MAC.
 
Goalkeeper Jordan Dues played a prime role in the defensive effort, knocking away five of the six shots on goal she faced. Her last save was a big one, blocking Briana Greene's 62nd-minute attempt that was Longwood's last shot on target.
 
The lone score for Longwood (6-7, 0-2 MAC) came off the stick of senior Jordan Chapman in the 21st minute.
 
The defeat extends a stretch of hard-luck losses for the Lancers, who have lost four in a row with three of those coming by just one goal. That recent losing streak is Longwood's longest of the season and has put the brakes on what began as the program's best start of the Division I era. Five of Longwood's losses have been by one goal, including a pair of overtime defeats against VCU and MAC frontrunner Kent State.
 
"It puts us in a tough position in conference, but not an impossible one," Byers said. "The team knows they need to do better, and we'll do better."
 
Longwood will get a chance to right the ship this Wednesday, Oct. 12, with a home rematch against Commonwealth rival VCU at 6 p.m. That will be the final non-conference bout of the year for the Lancers, who will make a push for the MAC Tournament with three consecutive MAC matchups against Ohio, Central Michigan and Missouri State.

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