Soccer Hosts Bowling Green Friday At 3 p.m.

MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State soccer team will be back in action on Friday afternoon as the Cardinals host Mid-American Conference foe Bowling Green at the BSU Soccer Field at 3 p.m. The Cardinals enter the game with an 8-4-1 overall record and sit in sole possession of first place in the MAC with a 5-0-1 mark.

“We are excited to face a very good Bowling Green team on Friday,” second-year head coach Michelle Salmon said. “We look forward to play at home in front of our great fans and hope that everyone will come out and wear red to show their support.”

The Cardinals enter the contest having posted seven consecutive shutouts, including all six so far in MAC play. The BSU defense and junior goalkeeper Rachael Murphy (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) have allowed a MAC-best eight goals against this season. Murphy, the reigning MAC Player of the Week, leads the conference with a 0.44 goals against average.

Offensively, the Cardinals use a balanced scoring attack as seven different players have found the back of the net, including four players who have scored three of more goals. Junior midfielder Annie Aiello (Granger, Ind./Penn) leads the team in goals as she has tallied four goals on the year. All four of her goals this season have come from the penalty spot.

Junior forward Emily Rein (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) leads the team in scoring overall as she has recorded three goals and dished out a team-high four assists. Senior forward Sarah Leibel (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) and junior Sarah Schumacker (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield) also have three goals apiece so far this season.

Friday's game is the ninth meeting all-time between Ball State and Bowling Green with the Cardinals holding a 5-2-1 advantage in the series. The Cardinals have won three straight over the Falcons, including a 2-0 victory on the road last season.

In that game, Ball State snapped Bowling Green's 13-game unbeaten streak. The Cardinals came out of the gate quickly as Rein intercepted a potential clearing attempt from the Falcon goalkeeper and tucked home the shot for the goal in the 24th minute.

Ball State added an insurance goal in the 70th minute off of a corner kick. Aiello sent the corner kick into the box where Katelyn Alexander (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) drilled the shot into the back of the net for her second goal of the season. Murphy posted two saves in the shutout.

Bowling Green enters the weekend with a 5-8-1 overall record and a 2-4-0 mark in MAC play. The Falcons are coming off of a 1-1-0 weekend in which they defeated Kent State before falling at Buffalo.

The Falcons have scored 17 goals through 14 games this season while allowing 25 goals against. Stacey Lucas and Jackie Tamerlano are tied for the team lead with four goals each.

In goal, the Falcons have used three different goalkeepers this season. Christy Zabek has played 652:02 this season and owns a 1.93 goals against average while Alexa Arsenault has played 515:00 this year with a 0.87 goals against average.

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Ball State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Annie Aiello

Katelyn Alexander

Sarah Leibel

Rachael Murphy

Sarah Schumacker

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