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Oct. 26, 2001

Stats

OXFORD, Ohio-Battling frigid conditions while daylight slipped away, Miami University and Ball State University struggled to an exhausting 1-1 draw Friday afternoon at Miami soccer field, earning both teams one point in the all-important Mid-American Conference point standings.

Miami fell behind early when the Cardinals' Dee Nocero outran three Miami defenders to the far corner of the field and sent a perfectly-placed shot just over RedHawk goalkeeper Katie Karlander (Carmel, Ind./Syracuse) and into the near corner of the net. The goal ended a more than 280-minute long shutout streak for Karlander.

The RedHawks, who had not rallied from any deficit this season, were given the opportunity to knot the score at 17:36 when junior Andrea Cunningham (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) was brought down in the Cardinal penalty box. Cunningham converted the ensuing penalty kick to record her 12th goal of the season and become the first player in Miami and second player in MAC history to surpass the 100-point mark. Her 101 career points presently rank second all-time in the MAC, a record Cunningham can match with just three more points.

For the remainder of the game, an epic struggle ensued, with both defenses bending but neither breaking. Miami's Danielle Altiero (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) led all players with eight shots, including five on goal, but Karlander and Ball State's Megan Swafford recorded seven and nine saves, respectively, to ward off any scoring threats. The tie was Miami's first since its 150-minute scoreless draw with Eastern Michigan in the 1999 MAC Championship match.

"It was a terrific up and down the field match," Head Coach Bobby Kramig said. "Ball State is the best defensive team we've seen in the MAC this season, and they left little question of that today."

Miami, which needs two victories and an Ohio University loss to claim its first regular-season MAC Championship, takes to the field again Sunday when it faces Bowling Green State University in a rematch of last season's MAC Championship match. The RedHawks, who now stand at 10-5-1 and 7-2-1 in the MAC, conclude the season on Thursday, Nov. 1 with a pivotal match versus Eastern Michigan University.