Ball State University Athletics
Soccer Hosts Miami In Season Finale Thursday
October 25, 2006 | Soccer
Today's Game . . .
Ball State enters Thursday's game with a chance to make program history as the Cardinals have the opportunity to claim their first ever Mid-American Conference title. BSU enters the game against Miami needing a win or a tie to win the title outright without help from any other team.
Today's game also will serve as senior day for the Cardinals' four seniors in Amy Cooksey, Vandi Ogden, Sarah Maxwell and Amy Holst. The four seniors have combined to play in over 230 games for the Cardinals in their careers including 78 consecutive starts for Maxwell.
Radio Broadcast . . .
Thursday's game will be broadcast on WCRD 91.3 FM and will also be available online at www.ballstatesports.com.
MAC Scenarios . . .
The Cardinals control their Mid-American Conference destiny heading into today's game as they sit alone in first place with a 7-2-1 (.750) record. Toledo sits in second place with a 5-2-2 (.667) record while Ohio is in third place with a 6-3-1 (.650) record. The regular season title and MAC Tournament seeding will be determined by winning percentage. The Cardinals can finish no lower than second in the MAC.
If the Cardinals Win or Tie: BSU will win the MAC regular season championship outright.
If the Cardinals lose: BSU will still win an outright championship with losses by Toledo and Ohio. The Cardinals would share the MAC title with a loss, a Toledo loss and an Ohio victory. BSU will only finish in second with a loss and a Toledo win.
Series History . . .
Thursday's game is the eighth meeting all-time between Ball State and Miami. The series has been evenly matched since its inception with the Cardinals owning a 3-3-1 mark against the RedHawks. The Cardinals have won the last three meetings in the series though, including a 2-1 victory last season on the road.
Midfielder Angie Heyer gave the Cardinals all of their scoring as she tallied a goal in the seventh minute and the game-winning goal in the 71st minute to secure the victory. Defender Lindsay Martin picked up an assist on the game-winning goal.
About the Cardinals . . .
The Cardinals come into today's game with a 12-3-3 record overall and a 7-2-1 mark in MAC play. Ball State sits atop the MAC standings and has already qualified for the MAC Tournament. The Cardinals will host at least a first round game on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. against an undetermined opponent.
The Cardinals are led by senior midfielder Amy Holst who leads the team and the MAC in scoring with nine goals on the year. Forward Emily Rein is second on the team in scoring with seven goals and three assists, good for 17 total points. Goalkeeper Rachael Murphy is third in the conference with a 0.95 goals against average and tied for first in the conference with seven shutouts.
About the RedHawks . . .
Miami enters the game with a 7-8-2 record overall and a 4-4-2 mark in conference action. The RedHawks are fighting for a spot in the MAC Tournament heading into today's game.
Miami is coming off of a 2-1 loss at Northern Illinois last weekend. The RedHawks are led by the conference's leading scorer in Kathleen Vistica who has tallied 22 total points (eight goals, six assists). Katie Boyd is second on the team in scoring with three goals and four assists.
Regional Buzz . . .
The Cardinals have been ranked in the region numerous times this season by both Soccerbuzz.com and the National Soccer Coaches Association of American (NSCAA). The Cardinals enter this week ranked 11th in the Great Lakes Region by Soccerbuzz.com and are receiving votes in the NSCAA Great Lakes Region Poll. They are the only Mid-American Conference team represented in the region in either poll.
Rein Earns MAC Honor . . .
Sophomore forward Emily Rein was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week earlier this year after leading the Cardinals to two road victories at Bowling Green and Toledo.
Rein, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, notched both game-winning goals on the weekend. She scored an unassisted goal against Bowling Green in the 24th minute that snapped a 900-plus minute BGSU shutout streak and tallied another unassisted goal in the 50th minute of the Toledo victory.
Fast MAC Starts . . .
The Cardinals are the only team in the MAC to win their first four games of the season. The 4-0-0 start to MAC play is the best start for the Cardinals in program history. Last season, Ball State opened the season 3-1-0 as did the 2002 team.
MAC Stats . . .
The Cardinals can be seen near the top of most statistical categories in the latest Mid-American Conference release. The Cardinals are among the top three in nine of the 14 team statistical categories, including the top mark in seven categories. BSU leads the league in shots per game (16.28), points (5.39), goals (34), goals per game (1.89), assists (29), assists per game (1.61) and corner kicks (122).
The Cardinals also have three players in the top seven in scoring in the MAC. Amy Holst is third in scoring with 18 points while Emily Rein is tied for fourth with 17 points. Holst also leads the conference in goals with nine while Sarah Schumacker is tied for fourth in the conference assists with five.
New Face at the Front . . .
Ball State first-year head coach Michelle Salmon picked up her first victory with the Cardinals in her first game when BSU downed IPFW, 5-1. The Cardinals are off to a 12-3-3 record under Salmon as she now boasts a 58-56-11 overall career coaching record.
Salmon joins the Cardinals staff after spending the past six seasons at the helm of UMBC. She compiled a 46-53-8 record with the Retrievers before coming to Muncie.
Preseason Prognosticators . . .
Ball State, fresh off of a second place finish in the MAC last fall, was picked to finish tied for seventh place by league coaches in the Preseason MAC Poll. The Cardinals were picked to finish tied with Eastern Michigan.
Central Michigan was the overall favorite to win the league crown and the conference tournament championship this fall as the Chippewas return 10 of 11 starters from last season. Defending champion Bowling Green was picked to finish third this season with Western Michigan tabbed for second.
Looking Ahead . . .
The Cardinals have already clinched a berth into the MAC Tournament and will be one of four host teams in the quarterfinals. The Cardinals will take on an undetermined opponent on Sunday afternoon at the BSU Soccer Field. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
