Ball State University Athletics
Soccer Heads To Sunshine State For FAU Classic
September 06, 2007 | Soccer
What's On Tap . . .
For the first time in program history, the Cardinals will head to the Sunshine State as they take part in the FAU Classic in Boca Raton, Fla.
Ball State will battle tournament host Florida Atlantic under the lights Friday night before facing 2006 NCAA Tournament participant UNC Greensboro on Sunday morning.
Cardinals In Road Openers . . .
Ball State is 6-2-0 all-time in road openers heading into this weekend's tournament at FAU. The Cardinals have won their past three road openers with wins at Butler (2004), at Indiana State (2005) and at IPFW (2006).
Tournament Time . . .
This season marks the fifth time in nine seasons that the Cardinals have taken part in a midseason tournament. Ball State is 6-1-1 all-time in midseason tournaments, including 2-0-0 records in 2001 (Southeast Missouri), 2002 (Mercer) and 2004 (Central Michigan).
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the weekend with a 1-1-0 record overall on the young season as the Cardinals opened the season with a victory over IPFW before dropping a game against Butler last weekend.
Junior forward Emily Rein leads the Cardinals after two games in scoring as she has tallied one goal and handed out three assists. Classmate Sarah Schumacker is second on the team in scoring with two goals and two assists.
Junior goalkeeper Rachael Murphy owns a 1.10 goals against average after two games this season as she has played over 164 minutes in goal.
Lending A Helping Hand . . .
The Cardinals have handed out eight assists through two 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.
Series History . . .
This weekend will mark the first meeting all-time between Ball State and both Florida Atlantic and UNC Greensboro.
Scouting The Owls . . .
Florida Atlantic comes into the weekend with a 1-1-0 record on the season. The Owls dropped their season opener against UC-Riverside before picking up a 1-0 victory at San Diego State on Sunday.
Leading the charge for the Owls is Susana Lehtinen who has scored one goal and handed out one assist. Gillian Baggott owns FAU's lone game-winning goal on the season. In net for the Owls, Jessica Bladder has played every minute in the first two games and owns a 1.50 goals against average.
Scouting The Spartans . . .
UNC Greensboro, a 2006 NCAA Tournament participant, enters the weekend with a 2-0-0 record overall. The Spartans opened the season with a 2-0 victory over 27th ranked William & Mary. UNCG also downed MAC foe Central Michigan 2-0 on Sunday afternoon.
The Spartans were led by freshman forward Kristin Player. Player earned Southern Conference Player of the Week honors as she notched both game-winning goals on the weekend and also dished out one assist against Central Michigan. In goal, Katherine Ryan has recorded back-to-back shutouts and 10 saves through two games.
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.
Road Warriors . . .
Ball State hits the road for the first time in 2007 this weekend for the FAU Classic. 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.
Looking Back At 2006 . . .
Last season was a year for the record books as the Cardinals took home their first ever Mid-American Conference regular season title with a 13-4-3 overall record and an 8-2-1 conference mark.
The Cardinals' .725 winning percentage was their second highest in program history and ranked tied for 32nd highest in NCAA Division I. Ball State finished the year with a 7-1-1 record on the road, including seven straight wins to close the season on the road.
Cardinal head coach Michelle Salmon picked up MAC Coach of the Year honors in just her first season at the helm of the Cardinals. Ball State also placed four players, Sarah Maxwell, Amy Holst, Vandi Ogden and Emily Rein, on the First Team All-MAC squad.
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 continue their four-game road swing next weekend as they travel to Eastern Illinois on Friday afternoon. Ball State will wrap up the weekend in Bloomington as it battles rival Indiana at 2 p.m.
