Chippewas Fall In OT

Thursday, October 18

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

7:00 p.m. ET

Central Michigan University

6-11-0, 4-5-0MAC

Ball State

10-3-2, 6-2-1MAC

OT 2

Ball State

Central Michigan

Photo by: Allissa Rusco

10/18/2018 10:30:00 PM | Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

With two games remaining, CMU in battle for MAC Tournament berth

By: Mitch Vosburg

Mitch Vosburg, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan soccer team fell to Ball State, 2-1, in overtime on Thursday in a Mid-American Conference game at the CMU Soccer Stadium.

The Chippewas fall to 6-11, 4-5 MAC. The Cardinals improve to 10-3-2, 6-2-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Tatiana Mason scored in the 96^th minute to give the Cardinals the victory.

Despite the overtime loss, coach Peter McGahey said the Chippewas performed well.

"I thought we played some excellent soccer tonight," McGahey said. "It's certainly a hard (game) to take tonight, because I thought we had a little more (at stake)."

Jenna Dombrowski scored in the 24^th minute to put Ball State up, 1-0, and then Lexi Pelafas tied it in the 40^th minute with a rocket from 20 yards out to the far post. It was Pelafas' ninth goal of the season.

Pelafas seemingly gave the Chippewas a 1-0 lead in the 16^th minute, but the goal was waived off due to an offsides call.

THE NUMBERS

The Cardinals outshot the Chippewas 22-8, including 10-4 on goal.

CMU sophomore goalkeeper Morgan Britain finished with seven saves.

With 12 points (three points for a league win, one for a tie), the Chippewas are in a three-way tie for seventh place in the MAC standings with Buffalo and Eastern Michigan.

The top eight teams earn a berth in the league tournament, making CMU's final two games crucial. The Chippewas play host to Miami (Ohio) on Sunday (1 p.m.) and then close the regular season at Eastern Michigan on Thursday, Oct. 25.

"We have two games left, and everything we want to play for is there," McGahey said. "The points are still on the table, the games are getting more and more critical. We're certainly glad we have our next game at home."