BUFFALO, N.Y. ? The Ball State soccer team begins a regular season ending three-game road swing on Friday afternoon as the Cardinals battle Mid-American Conference foe Buffalo at 4 p.m. at the UB Stadium. The Cardinals enter the game with a 10-4-1 overall record while Buffalo owns a 5-9-2 mark on the season.
“We are excited to face a very good Buffalo team on Friday afternoon,” second-year head coach Michelle Salmon said. “We are doing some good things right now on both ends of the field and we are looking to improve our play each time out.”
Ball State, which entered the Great Lakes Regional rankings at No. 13 this week, opens the weekend alone in first place in the MAC with a 7-0-1 mark. The Cardinals have secured 22 of a possible 24 points so far this season in the standings as three points are awarded for a win and one point for a tie. Ball State holds a four-point lead over second place Toledo with three games remaining in the regular season.
The Cardinals are coming off of two dramatic victories last weekend as they defeated Bowling Green in double overtime last Friday and Toledo in overtime on Sunday. Junior forward Emily Rein (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) and senior forward Sarah Leibel (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) each scored game-winners in extra time to keep Ball State alone atop the MAC standings.
Ball State has allowed a conference-best 10 goals against this season through 15 games, including just two goals against in conference play. Junior goalkeeper Rachael Murphy (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) and the Cardinal defense have posted eight shutouts this season, all of which have come in the past nine games. Murphy leads the MAC with a 0.51 goals against average this season.
Offensively, the Cardinals have scored 21 goals so far this season and use a balanced scoring attack as five different players have scored at least three goals each. Rein leads the team in scoring with five goals and five assists while Leibel is second in scoring with four goals and two assists.
Junior midfielder Katelyn Alexander (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) is third on the team with three goals and four assists while junior Annie Aiello (Granger, Ind./Penn) has added four goals. Junior forward Sarah Schumacker (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield) rounds out the Cardinals' top scorers with three goals and two assists.
Friday's game is the ninth meeting all-time between Ball State and Buffalo. The series is tied 4-4-0 all-time between the two teams, with the Cardinals winning four of the last five meetings.
Last season, Ball State took home a 3-2 victory in the first MAC weekend of the season. The Cardinals controlled the tempo of the game as they held a 22-5 advantage in shots. Rein put the Cardinals on the board quickly as she scored 51 seconds into the game as she took advantage of a turnover by the UB goalkeeper.
Buffalo fought back and tied the game with a goal in the 29th minute but former Cardinal Vandi Ogden put BSU back ahead in the 36th minute off of a failed clearing attempt. Ball State took a two-goal lead in the 52nd minute as Amy Holst scored off of a free kick with Rein and Ogden picking up assists.
Buffalo enters Friday's game with a 5-9-2 overall record and a 2-5-1 mark in conference play. The Bulls are coming off of a strong 1-0 victory at Central Michigan last Sunday. Buffalo has scored 20 goals so far this season while allowing 31 goals against. Goalkeeper Amy Coron has played ever minute in goal for UB as she owns a 1.86 goals against average and has made 106 saves.
Offensively, three Bulls have scored four goals this season. Andrea Vescio leads the way with four goals and four assists while Brooke McCalla has four goals and three assists. Heidi Griffiths rounds out the top scorers with four goals and an assist.
####
