Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Eastern Illinois
Soccer Hosting Eastern Illinois Sunday Afternoon for Senior Day
September 04, 2026 | Soccer
The Ball State soccer team will be at home on Sunday afternoon to host Eastern Illinois.
The match is set for 1 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+. Links to the broadcast and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
The Cardinals (2-2-1) most recently picked up a 1-0 victory over Cincinnati on Sunday. Annika Klauss scored her first goal of the season early in the second half against the Bearcats off of a Mary Jane Keller assist.
The Panthers (2-1-2) are coming off of a scoreless tie against Indiana State (Aug. 27) and a 3-0 win over Purdue Fort Wayne last Sunday.
EIU is in its fourth season under the direction of head coach Dirk Bennett. The Panthers finished in fourth in the 10-team Ohio Valley Conference standings last year with a 8-8-3 (5-3-1 OVC) record.
Ball State's next match after this weekend will be a road contest on Sept. 13 at Dayton.
KLAUSS PROPELS CARDINALS: Senior Annika Klauss scored a sliding goal in the 49th minute to grab the only goal of Sunday's contest in Ball State's 1-0 victory over Cincinnati. This marked the first Cardinal victory over the Bearcats in the series.
CONTINUING RECENT SUCCESS: Sunday's match against Eastern Illinois will be the sixth in series history with the Panthers.
Ball State captured its fourth win in the series last year with a 4-0 victory on Aug. 24 in Charleston. The Cardinals will be looking for the third consecutive victory at Briner Sports Complex in 2026.
BALL STATE TO HONOR SIX SENIORS ON SUNDAY: Sunday's contest will mark Senior Day for the Cardinals, who will honor the players for their contributions before the match. Ball State will honor Audrey Goodyear, Kylie Archer, Ainsley Schaufele, Annika Klauss, Kaelyn Valleau and Delaney Ahearn.
BACKLINE IS BACK: The Cardinals bring back plenty of experience in its back line as senior defenders Delaney Ahearn (41 starts at Ball State) and Audrey Goodyear (46) and sophomores Jordyn Klaasen (25) and Grier Isaacson (22) have been mainstays in the defensive backfield. Junior goalkeeper Kate Pallante returns after being the primary goalie in 2025.
BEATING EXPECTATIONS: Ball State was picked sixth in this year's MAC preseason coaches poll but significantly outperformed its preseason prognostication in 2025, finishing fourth in the final MAC standings after being picked 11th leading up to the campaign.
TEN TIMES: Last year's Ball State soccer team reached 10 wins for the program's first 10-win season since 2019.
That season's Cardinals went 15-5 and posted a 9-2 record in the Mid-American Conference.
ROAD RUNNERS: Ball State went 8-2 in road contests in 2025.
The Cardinals concluded the season as the only team in the MAC with more than six wins in away games on the year.
