Ball State University Athletics
Soccer Opens MAC Play This Weekend At Home
September 21, 2006 | Soccer
This Weekend's Games . . .
The Cardinals open up their 2006 Mid-American Conference schedule this weekend as they play host to Kent State on Friday and Buffalo on Sunday.
MAC Openers . . .
The Cardinals are 4-2-1 all-time in Mid-American Conference season openers including two wins over Kent State in 2005 and in 2002. The Cardinals downed the Golden Flashes to open MAC play last season as forward Angie Heyer scored the game's first goal off an assist from Betsy Wilcek.
Series History . . .
Friday's meeting is the ninth meeting all-time between the Cardinals and the Golden Flashes. The series has been a close affair as it is tied 3-3-2 heading into today's game. Last season, the Cardinals defeated Kent State 2-0 on the road in the regular season but fell to the Golden Flashes on penalty kicks in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals.
Sunday's meeting is the eighth meeting all-time between the Cardinals and the Bulls. Ball State trails the series by a 3-4-0 mark including a 1-0 defeat last season in the Empire State. The loss last season snapped the Cardinals' three-game winning streak against Buffalo.
About the Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the weekend sporting a 5-1-2 record on the year. The Cardinals are coming off of a thrilling come-from-behind victory last Sunday over Xavier. BSU rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final seven minutes of regulation to force overtime where the Cardinals won in the 97th minute.
Forward Sarah Leibel scored the game-winning goal, her third of the season, as midfielder Katelyn Alexander and forward Emily Rein each tallied assists on the goal. Rein also added the game-tying goal in the 88th minute of regulation. The Cardinals ended non-conference action with a 5-0-1 record against regional foes and are receiving votes in the latest SoccerBuzz regional polls.
Three different Cardinals have tallied three goals apiece so far this season in Leibel, Sarah Schumacker and Amy Holst. Leibel enters the weekend leading the MAC in shots with 29 on the season while Schumacker is tied for fourth in the conference with eight points.
About the Golden Flashes. . .
Kent State enters today's game with a 3-4-1 record and is coming off of a 1-0 loss at Pittsburgh last weekend. The Golden Flashes have picked up wins this season over Cleveland State, Youngstown State and St. Bonaventure.
Seven different players have scored goals this season with Brittany Fracasso leading the team with a goal and two assists.
About the Bulls . . .
Buffalo enters the weekend with a 3-4-0 record on the season and will face Miami on Friday afternoon. The Bulls snapped a three-game losing streak last weekend by downing cross-town rival Canisius, 3-2.
Buffalo has tallied nine goals this season including a team-leading four goals from forward Heidi Griffiths. Her four goals are tied for second in the MAC entering the weekend.
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. BSU leads the league in shots per game (16.0) and corner kicks per game (6.12). The Cardinals are also second in the league in points per game (5.62), goals per game (2.00), assists per game (1.62).
Home Sweet Home . . .
The Cardinals return home to the friendly confines of the Ball State Soccer Field this weekend where they hold a 39-21-7 mark all-time. The Cardinals are coming off of an 8-1-1 home record last fall and have posted a 2-0-0 record at home so far this season.. In fact, the Cardinals have only lost two games in Muncie over the past two-plus seasons.
Below is a list of the Cardinals' home records over the years:
2006 - 1-0-0
2005 - 8-1-1
2004 - 3-1-4
2003 - 6-4-0
2002 - 8-2-0
2001 - 7-2-0
2000 - 5-5-1
1999 - 0-6-1
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.
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 will hit the road next weekend for a pair of games against MAC foes as BSU travels to Bowling Green and Toledo.
