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MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State soccer team wraps up regular season play on Thursday afternoon as the Cardinals host Mid-American Conference arch rival Miami at 3 p.m. at the BSU Soccer Field. Thursday's game will be broadcast by Ball State Sports Link on Cardinal Vision Ch. 57 and free online at www.ballstatesports.com.
“This is a very big game for our team,” head coach Michael Lovett said. “We know what we need to accomplish to keep our goals alive for the season and head into the MAC Tournament. We have worked hard this week getting back to Ball State soccer and hopefully we have a large fan turnout to provide us extra energy Thursday.”
The Cardinals are battling to secure a spot in the 2008 MAC Tournament, which begins play Sunday afternoon. The Cardinals currently sit in eighth place in the MAC standings with 13 points and hold a two-point lead over ninth place Ohio for the final spot in the MAC Tournament. Ball State can secure a spot with a win or a tie against Miami or the Cardinals will gain a spot with an Ohio loss or a tie Thursday against Akron. The MAC standings award three points for a victory and one point for a tie.
Ball State enter the game with an 8-9-1 overall and a 4-5-1 mark in conference play. The Cardinals have dropped back-to-back games in MAC play for the second time this season heading into Thursday's game as BSU fell 1-0 at Western Michigan and Northern Illinois last weekend.
The Cardinals have scored 23 goals through the first 18 games this season while allowing 18 goals against. Ball State leads the MAC in shots with 283 and has held its opponents to just 182 shots. Senior forward Emily Rein (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) leads the offensive attack with 14 points overall and has dished out a team-high six assists. She leads the team with 52 shots of the season, which is tied for third in the MAC.
Junior midfielder Megan Ridley (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) is second on the team in scoring with nine points while sophomore forward Jacki Eft (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) is third in scoring with eight points. Senior goalkeeper Rachael Murphy (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) owns a 0.95 goals against average this season and has posted six shutouts.
Thursday's game marks the 12th meeting all-time between Ball State and Miami. The Cardinals hold a 6-4-1 all-time record against the RedHawks and have won five out of the last six meetings between the two teams. This year marks the third straight season Ball State and Miami have met in the regular season finale.
Last season, the Cardinals picked up a 2-1 overtime victory at Miami in the regular season finale. The Cardinals scored first as Annie Aiello (Granger, Ind./Penn) scored on a first half penalty kick. The game went into overtime despite Miami being down a man due to a red card to goalkeeper Krista Pace. Sarah Schumacker (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield) recorded the game-winning goal in the 96th minute.
The two teams met just days later in Muncie in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals with the Cardinals claiming a 1-0 victory. Senior defender Lindsay Martin scored the game-winning goal in the 57th minute off of a corner kick from Katelyn Alexander (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll).
Miami enters the game with a 6-10-1 overall record and a 5-5-0 mark in MAC play. The RedHawks have won three of their last four games, including wins last weekend at Northern Illinois and Western Michigan. Miami has already clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament and can finish anywhere from the fifth seed to the eighth seed.
Miami has scored 22 goals through 17 games this season and has allowed a MAC-high 35 goals against. The RedHawks have tallied 240 shots this season while allowing 249 shots against.
Sara Lund leads the way offensively as she has scored 18 points on the strength of eight goals and two assists. Jodi Zwingelberg is second on the team in scoring with 10 points (3g, 4a) while Courtney Clarke is third with eight points (3g, 2a). Krista Pace has returned in goal for the RedHawks and owns an 1.73 goals against average.
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