The Eastern women’s soccer team was unable to take advantage of scoring opportunities Friday and fell to 0-7-1 on the season with a 2-0 loss to Ball State in Muncie, Ind.

“You have to give Ball State credit,” Eastern head coach Tim Nowak said. “They came out and competed very hard and created their own opportunities. We had a lot of opportunities to score multiple goals and didn’t take advantage of them. We shot ourselves in the foot.”

The Panthers fell behind 1-0 early when Cardinals’ senior midfielder Annie Aiello scored on a penalty kick in the 18th minute.

The penalty kick opportunity came when Eastern sophomore defender Rebecca Holcomb tripped a Ball State attacker dribbling the ball toward the net.

The second goal of the match came in the 51st minute when Ball State senior forward Bailey Decker put in a rebound off of a save from five yards out.

The goal occurred during a scramble in front of the net when junior goalkeeper Jenny Williams collided with another Panther player allowing Decker to shoot at a wide-open net.

Williams, starting for the first time since Aug. 26, finished with seven saves in the match.

“Jenny did a good job of controlling the 18-yard box,” Nowak said. “She is experienced and confident and did a good job of that today.”

The Panthers had a number of opportunities to score in the second half but were unable to capitalize.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or at cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.