Soccer Falls to Ball State on Late-Match Heartbreaker - Central Michigan University Athletics

Thursday, October 29

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

7 p.m.

Central Michigan University

2-10-5, 0-6-4

Ball State

7-5-5, 4-2-4

Team	1	2	Final F
Ball State	0	1	1
Central Michigan	0	0	0

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Soccer vs. Ball State (October 29, 2026)

Photo by: Addison Glascock '29 - @aglascock.photography

10/29/2026 11:37:00 PM | Soccer

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Quality chances throughout, Kershaw adds six saves; stray Cardinal attempt in the 85th minute sneaks inside the post

By: Harrison LaLone

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Central Michigan Soccer closed the 2026 home schedule with a 1-0 loss to Ball State in Mid-American Conference play Thursday night.

"We knew it wasn't going to be high-scoring," Head Coach James DeCosemo said. "To win was probably going to be a [single] goal, and it was going to come from a half-chance, a limited chance, and we created those.

"You almost have to be perfect, and we just weren't quite there."

The junior forwards, Ella Betzold (Essexville, Mich. / Garber) and Ella Dykstra (Saint Joseph, Mich. / Saint Joseph), brought intense pressure throughout the contest. While Betzold took the shots—four with three on-frame—Dykstra was routinely involved in setting the table and creating the space.

Senior keeper Jadia Kershaw (Lewis Center, Ohio / Olentangy Orange) continued her momentum from an eight-save shutout at Massachusetts on Saturday for six more stops, only to have the chance at back-to-back broken up nearly 85 minutes in.

"We just need that one moment … we had a good performance between the boxes but didn't have the quality in either box to win the game. [Ball State] created two or three moments, and scored; we created two or three moments, and didn't."

The moment nearly came just 90 seconds earlier as Naomi Phillips (Markham, Ontario / Bill Crothers) squared a header from a corner served low in front of the goal by Melaina Troy (Rochester Hills, Mich. / Rochester). The initial save led to a rebound attempt from Niko Astaiza (London, Ontario / Mother Teresa) that just missed the left post.

"The only thing that's been missing for us to have a much better season would have been a little bit of luck—which sometimes it takes—and definitely a little bit of quality, and that was the big difference."

The 2026 Chippewa Soccer campaign closes at Kent State Sunday (Nov. 1, 1 p.m. ET).

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