Ball State University Athletics
Soccer Heads To Eastern Illinois Friday
September 13, 2007 | Soccer
What's On Tap . . .
The Cardinals continue their four-game road swing this weekend as they travel to Charleston, Ill., Friday afternoon to face off against Eastern Illinois.
Series History . . .
Friday's game is the first meeting all-time between the Cardinals and the Panthers. The game marks the third straight first-time opponent for the Cardinals as they defeated Florida Atlantic and fell to UNC Greensboro last weekend.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters Friday's contest with a 2-2-0 record after two weekends of the young season. The Cardinals were 1-1-2 overall last year at the same point in the season.
The Cardinals are coming off of a 1-1-0 weekend and a second place finish in the FAU Classic. Ball State took home a 2-1 victory over host Florida Atlantic on Friday night before falling to 2006 NCAA Tournament participant UNC Greensboro on Sunday morning.
The Cardinals have scored eight goals so far on the season through four games and have dished out nine assists. Leading the charge offensively has been junior forward Emily Rein. Rein leads the team with five points as she has scored one goal and dished out three assists. Fellow forward Sarah Schumacker is the only Cardinal to register multiple goals so far this season as she has tallied a pair through four games. Five other Cardinals have recorded one goal so far this year.
In goal for the Cardinals, junior Rachael Murphy has a 0.89 goals against average in three games while sophomore Amy Cleeter has a 1.70 goals against average after coming on in relief of the injured Murphy last weekend.
Scouting The Panthers . . .
Eastern Illinois enters Friday's game with a 2-2-0 record on the season as well. The Panthers are coming off of a 1-1-0 week where they defeated Indiana State at home 3-0 before falling at 23rd-ranked Missouri, 3-0.
The Panthers have scored seven goals and dished out seven assists on the young season. Kellie Floyd leads the way offensively as she has scored two goals and dished out one assist.
In goal for EIU, Jenny Williams has played all but one half for the Panthers and owns a 1.71 goals against average.
Looking Back . . .
The Cardinals finished in second place in the FAU Classic as they defeated host Florida Atlantic and fell to UNC Greensboro.
In Friday's victory, the Cardinals and Owls battled back and forth all game long in a hotly contested battle. Ball State rallied as a team around reserve goalkeeper Amy Cleeter just 38 minutes in as starting goalkeeper Rachael Murphy was forced to leave the game due to an injury.
The Cardinals regrouped at halftime and came out and scored two goals early in the half. Senior forward Sarah Leibel got in behind the FAU defense and was taken down for a penalty kick. Junior defender Annie Aiello stepped forward and converted the penalty chance for the first goal of the game. Freshman Kristina Anderson scored the game-winning goal with a perfect bending shot from 30 yards out for her first career goal.
On Sunday, the Cardinals fell behind early as UNC Greensboro was able to convert on a chance in the seventh minute. The Cardinals attacked all game long and out-shot the Spartans by an 8-7 margin but could not secure the game-tying goal.
All-Tournament Honors . . .
Junior defender Annie Aiello and midfielder Katelyn Alexander were named to the FAU Classic All-Tournament team for their efforts last weekend.
Aiello anchored the Cardinals' defense that allowed just two goals in the two games over the weekend. She spearheaded the defensive effort on Friday night after the Cardinals saw starting goalkeeper Murphy go down with an injury in the first half. She also contributed on the offensive end as she stepped forward and converted a second half penalty kick for her first goal of the season.
Alexander continued her stellar return this year after missing the second half of 2006 due to injury. She was the catalyst in the midfield as she controlled play in both games over the weekend. She dished out the game-winning assist in Friday night's victory as she found freshman Anderson with a combination in the 58th minute.
Road Warriors . . .
Ball State picked up a victory in its first road game of the season at Florida Atlantic and has now won eight straight road games dating back to last year. Last season, the Cardinals posted a program-best seven road victories as they finished the year with a 7-1-1 mark away from home. Ball State also finished the season with seven straight wins away from home, including a 4-0-0 mark on the road in MAC action.
Lending A Helping Hand . . .
The Cardinals have handed out eight assists through four games so far this season to lead the Mid-American Conference in that category. Junior forward Emily Rein leads the team and the MAC with three assists as she became the first Cardinal all-time to hand out three in one game in the season opener.
Senior defender Lindsay Martin is second on the team with two assists while senior Sarah Leibel, sophomore Megan Ridley and freshman Kristina Anderson each have tallied one helper.
Deja Vu . . .
The Cardinals opened the 2007 season with a 5-1 victory over IPFW. The result was the same result as the Cardinals' 2006 season opener in Fort Wayne, in which BSU came away with a 5-1 victory.
In this year's opener, forward Sarah Schumacker scored two goals in the victory while forward Emily Rein dished out three assists. In 2006, five different Cardinals scored goals in the victory.
Cardinals Tabbed First . . .
Fresh off of its first ever Mid-American Conference regular season championship, the Ball State soccer team has been picked as the preseason favorite to win the MAC regular season and the MAC Tournament by league coaches. This is the first time in program history that the Cardinals have been picked as preseason favorite and the first time BSU has been picked higher than fifth (2005) in the preseason rankings.
Ball State is returning 17 letterwinners and eight starters from a 13-4-3 team last year. The Cardinals led the MAC in almost every offensive category last season and return all three starting forwards from a team that scored 39 goals in 20 games. Ball State also finished third in the conference in fewest goals allowed at 22.
Junior forward Emily Rein, a First Team All-MAC selection, highlights the returnees as she finished tied for the team lead in 2006 with nine goals and led the team in scoring with 22 points. Senior forward Sarah Leibel and junior forward Sarah Schumacker each tallied four goals last season to finish tied for third in goals scored.
The Cardinals led the MAC last season with 35 assists and had six players dish out at least four assists apiece. Senior Lindsay Martin, junior Annie Aiello and Schumacker each finished tied for eighth in the conference with five assists.
Ball State also returns junior goalkeeper Rachael Murphy, who was one of just three goalkeepers in the MAC to play every second in goal. Murphy also finished tied for second in the conference with seven shutouts and fourth with a 1.05 goals against average.
New Faces In The Crowd . . .
The Cardinals welcome in nine newcomers onto this year's team, including eight freshmen. Joining the Cardinals this year are: sophomore Amy Cleeter and freshmen Ashley Williamson, Claire Richardson, Vanessa Stone, Kristina Anderson, Jacki Eft, Kristy Morris, Meg Mellott and Cortney Coombs.
Hitting The Airwaves . . .
For the first time in program history, the Cardinals will have all regular season home games broadcast by 91.3 WCRD FM and online at www.ballstatesports.com this season. Ball State students Eric Ryan, James Rider and Levin Black will provide play-by-play and commentary duties all season long for the Cardinals.
In addition, “Kickin' It With Michelle Salmon,” a weekly radio show will be broadcast on Monday nights from 7-8 p.m. The show will feature coach Salmon as well as selected players each week.
Home Sweet Home . . .
The Cardinals will play nine regular season home games in 2007 at the BSU Soccer Field. Ball State is 44-25-8 all-time at home in Muncie, which is good for a 62.3 percent winning percentage.
The Cardinals posted a 6-3-1 record at home last season and are 1-1 so far this season at home.
Looking Ahead . . .
The Cardinals will conclude their four-game road swing on Sunday afternoon as they travel to Bloomington, Ind., for a showdown against Indiana at 2 p.m.
