LIVE STATS vs. WMU
MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State soccer team closes out the road portion of the 2008 regular season this weekend as the Cardinals hit the road for two pivotal Mid-American Conference games. The Cardinals travel to Western Michigan Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. before facing Northern Illinois Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. (ET).
This weekend has implications on the Cardinals' prospects for the 2008 MAC Tournament. Ball State enters the weekend with an 8-7-1 overall record and a 4-3-1 mark in MAC play as the Cardinals are tied fifth place in the conference with Western Michigan and Bowling Green. NIU enters the weekend tied for third in the MAC with a 4-2-2 conference record, just one point in front of the Cardinals.
“Our team is looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead of us this weekend,” head coach Michael Lovett said. “This is our last full MAC weekend of the year and we know that we control our own destiny as far as the MAC Tournament seeding goes. We have to focus on playing Ball State soccer and put ourselves in the best position as we approach the MAC Tournament.”
The Cardinals are coming off of a 1-0-1 record last weekend as they picked up a 2-0 victory over Ohio before tying Akron, 2-2. Ball State out-shot both of its opponents last weekend by a 66-14 margin, including posting a program-record 36 shots in the victory over Ohio. Junior midfielder Megan Ridley (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) and sophomore midfielder Meg Mellott (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) paced the attack with 12 shots each in the two games.
Ball State has scored 23 goals so far this season through the first 16 games with senior forward Emily Rein (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) leading the charge with 14 points. Rein is tied for the team lead in goals with four and leads the team with six assists. Ridley is second on the team in scoring with nine points on the strength of four goals and one assist.
The Cardinals have held opponents to 16 goals against through 16 games and just eight goals in MAC play. Senior goalkeeper Rachael Murphy (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) has been a stalwart in goal as she owns a 0.95 goals against average this season and has posted six shutouts.
Friday's game marks the 12th meeting all-time between Ball State and Western Michigan. The Cardinals hold a 6-4-1 record all-time against the Broncos and have won the past three meetings between the two teams. Ball State has out-scored Western Michigan by a 7-0 margin in its last three victories, including a 2-0 win last season in Muncie.
In that game, the Cardinals out-shot the Broncos by a 23-5 margin, including a 16-4 advantage in the second half. Ball State scored both of its goals in a 5:42 span of the second half to claim the victory. Annie Aiello (Granger, Ind./Penn) scored the game-winning goal in the 56th minute as she converted a penalty kick after Ridley was pulled down from behind on a breakaway in the box.
Western Michigan enters the weekend with a 5-9-1 overall record and a 4-3-1 mark in MAC play. The Broncos are coming off of two wins last weekend at Kent State (2-1) and at Buffalo (1-0).
Western Michigan has scored 15 goals so far this season through 15 games, while allowing 23 goals against. Stephanie Skowneski leads the team with four goals on the year for the Broncos. In goal, Julie Francy owns a 1.53 goals against average this season and has posted three shutouts.
Sunday's game marks the 10th meeting all-time between Ball State and Northern Illinois. The Cardinals are 4-2-3 all-time against the Huskies and are unbeaten in the last six meetings against NIU.
Last season, the two teams battled for 110 minutes of scoreless soccer as the Huskies were only one of two teams to gain a tie or victory against Ball State. The evenly matched game saw each team register 15 shots, with Murphy recorded six saves in the shutout.
Northern Illinois enters the weekend with an 8-3-5 overall record and a 4-2-2 mark in MAC play as the Huskies are tied for third place in the conference. NIU is coming off of a victory at Buffalo (1-0) and a tie at Kent State (1-1) last weekend. The Huskies open the weekend Friday at home against Miami.
The Huskies have scored 17 goals this season while allowing 13 goals against. Thea Johnson leads the team in scoring with 14 points as she has scored four goals and dished out six assists. Becca Ford is second on the team with eight points (4g), while Lisa Maier is also has eight points (1g, 6a) this season. In goal, Lindsey Curnock owns a 0.79 goals against average this season and has posted eight shutouts.
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