WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Saint Francis falls to Ball State 2-1 in the 2022 season opener for both teams in field hockey action on Friday.
>> Eva Valentini (Junin, Argentina) scored for the Red Flash off a Julia Breneman (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) and Caileen Quinn (Walpole, Mass.) assist in the first half.
>> Amber Bryan (Thorndale, Pa.) made five saves for Saint Francis.
 
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
Ball State scored in the 43rd minute to take the lead it would not relinquish to earn the one-goal victory. The Loretto program had five shots and three penalty corners after Ball State took the lead, but could not find the back of the cage. 
 
FLASH MOMENTS
Trailing 1-0, Valentini found the back of the cage off feeders from Breneman and Quinn at 25:20 to tie the match at 1. Ball State held the lead for two minutes and 37 minutes before the tying score.
 
After Ball State took the lead, Valentini had four shots in the final 17 minutes of the match. Her last three shots in the final 11 minutes were all knocked away, including the team's final chance with 2:35 left on the clock. Eugenia Kenny (Buenos Aires, Argentina) also had a shot stopped at 47:51.
 
FLASH NUGGETS
Valentini, who also notched the first goal of the 2021 season, continues where she left off her freshman campaign after leading the Red Flash with eight goals and six assists for 22 points. She was an All-Northeast Conference second-team performer last season.
 
Breneman and Quinn both notched their first career assists on the afternoon. Breneman was third on the team last season with six tallies for 12 points, while Quinn notched her first collegiate point.
 
Freshmen Chloe Butz (Stroudsburg, Pa.) and Madison Waldspurger (Hatfield, Pa.) both made their collegiate debut in the contest.
 
Bryan made her first collegiate start and made her first career saves on the afternoon. She appeared in two games in her career coming into the season.
 
NEXT GAME
Saint Francis continues its four-game road trip to start the season at Miami (Ohio) on Sunday. Game time is 7 p.m.