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MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State soccer team will wrap up its home portion of the 2007 regular season on Sunday afternoon as the Cardinals host Mid-American Conference foe Toledo at the BSU Soccer Field at 1 p.m. Admission is FREE!
Sunday's game will be senior day for the Cardinals as their seniors -- Betsy Wilcek (Elmhurst, Ill./York), Beth Meyer (Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs), Laura Bandy (Oakville, Ontario/T.A. Blakelock), Angie Heyer (Zanesville, Ind./Homestead), Lindsay Martin (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) and Sarah Leibel (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) -- will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.
“Sunday is going to be a special afternoon for Ball State Soccer on many levels,” second-year head coach Michelle Salmon said. “We are facing a very good team in Toledo and are honoring six great seniors before the game for senior day. Our six seniors have epitomized what it means to be a part of Ball State Soccer throughout their careers.”
The game will be a showdown between the defending MAC regular season champion Cardinals, who sit alone in first place in the MAC this season, against the defending MAC Tournament champion Rockets, who are one point behind BSU in the standings in second place.
Ball State (9-4-1, 6-0-1 MAC) is coming off of a dramatic 3-2 double overtime victory on Friday afternoon against Bowling Green. Junior forward Emily Rein (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) scored the game-winning goal in the 109th minute of action as she beat two Bowling Green defenders in the box for the clincher. Rein finished the game with two goals and an assist, while junior midfielder Katelyn Alexander (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) added a goal and an assist.
The Cardinals have scored 20 goals so far this season as seven different players have found the back of the net. Five Cardinals have scored at least three goals so far this season in the balanced attack, with Rein leading the way with a team-high five goals. Junior midfielder Annie Aiello (Granger, Ind./Penn) is second on the team with four goals, while junior Sarah Schumacker (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield), Alexander and Leibel are tied for third in scoring with three goals apiece.
Defensively, the Cardinals have allowed a MAC-best 10 goals against in 14 games, including just two goals in conference action. Junior goalkeeper Rachael Murphy (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville), the defending MAC Player of the Week, owns a 0.55 goals against average this season and just a 0.27 goals against average in MAC play.
Toledo enters Sunday's game with an 11-3-1 overall record and a 6-1-0 mark in MAC play. The Rockets are coming off of a 1-0 victory on Friday afternoon at Miami as they bounced back from their first MAC defeat of the season last weekend at Kent State.
Toledo leads the MAC in scoring this season with 31 goals while the Rockets have allowed 11 goals against. Sophomore forward Molly Cornwell leads Toledo and the MAC in scoring with 10 goals and nine assists. The Rockets have used two different goalkeepers this season with Andrea Plewes getting the majority of time in net. Plewes owns a 0.48 goals against average on the season.
Sunday's game is the ninth meeting all-time between Ball State and Toledo. The Cardinals own a 6-2-0 record all-time against the Rockets, including four straight victories.
Last season, Ball State took home a 2-1 victory on the road from Toledo. Former Cardinal Amy Holst scored the game's first goal in the 26th minute off of a corner kick from Alexander. The Cardinals jumped out to a two-goal lead in the 50th minute as Rein corralled a loose ball in the box and buried a shot into the top corner. Toledo battled back and pulled within one in the 67th minute, but the Ball State defense buckled down and didn't allow a second goal.
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