LIVE STATS
MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State soccer team concludes its four-game road swing on Sunday afternoon as the Cardinals travel to Bloomington, Ind., for a showdown against Indiana. Game time is set for 2 p.m. at Armstrong Stadium and will be the second meeting all-time between the Cardinals and Hoosiers.
“Indiana is a very good team and we are excited about playing them,” head coach Michelle Salmon said. “We look forward to the challenge that lies ahead of us and are ready to play our best Ball State Soccer tomorrow afternoon.”
The Cardinals (2-3-0) enter Sunday's game with a 3-1-0 record all-time against teams from the Big Ten Conference, including a 1-0 victory over the Hoosiers in 2004. Ball State picked up a 1-0 victory last season in Salmon's first year at the helm against Big Ten member Northwestern .
The Cardinals are coming off of their second straight 1-0 loss of the season as they dropped a one-goal game on Friday afternoon at Eastern Illinois. Ball State out-shot the Panthers by a 22-5 margin but could not secure the game-tying goal in the second half.
Seven different Cardinals have scored goals so far this season with junior forward Sarah Schumacker (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield) leading the charge with two goals in five games. Freshman forward Kristina Anderson (Hamilton, Ohio/Badin) and senior forward Sarah Leibel (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) each have recorded game-winning goals so far this season.
Junior goalkeeper Rachael Murphy (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) returned to the Cardinal lineup on Friday after missing a game and a half due to injury. Murphy owns a 0.93 goals against average this season after finishing last year with a 1.05 goals against average.
Indiana comes into the contest with a 3-1-1 record on the season and has won two straight games. The Hoosiers picked up a 2-1 victory over Samford on Friday night and last weekend they knocked of 13th ranked USC at home in overtime. Indiana also received votes in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of American (NSCAA) Top 25 poll.
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