Ball State University Athletics
Field Hockey Faces Ohio and Kent State in MAC Home Opener
October 03, 2008 | Field Hockey
MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State field hockey host Ohio 1 p.m. Saturday and Kent State 1 p.m. Sunday in its Mid-American Conference home opener this weekend.
About Ball State
The Cardinals welcome defending Mid-American Conference Tournament Champions Ohio and 2008 Preseason favorite Kent State in their MAC home opener at BSU Turf Field this weekend . . . Ball State is coming off its first conference loss Sunday against Missouri State after a tough overtime battle . . . Freshman forward Brittany Hammer leads the team with five goals and three assists . . . Defensively, Cardinal goalkeeper Tiffany Shifflett has started all nine games and owns a 3.85 goals-against average and a .628 save percentage with 208 career saves.
Scouting Ohio
The Bobcats (4-5 overall) enter the weekend 2-0 in MAC play after defeating Central Michigan 4-3 and holding Kent State scoreless in a 1-0 victory this past week . . . Senior Rachelle Coetzee leads the team with four goals and two assists followed by her sister Estienne Coetzee, a senior, who scored three goals this season . . . Defensively, senior goalkeeper Jessie Martin is averaging 1.96 goals-against average and has 64 saves on the year.
The Last Meeting
Ball State and Ohio met twice in 2007 . . . Ohio, ranked 11th at the time, won both contests . . . During the first match at home, the Cardinals forced the Bobcats into overtime but eventually lost 4-3 on a goal scored by Katelyn Shelley in the extra minutes . . . Ohio's Tori Albini scored two goals in the final minutes during the next meeting to give the Bobcats the second win 4-3.
Scouting Kent State
The Golden Flashes (6-4 overall) opened MAC play at home defeating Central Michigan 4-3 but losing to Ohio 1-0 . . . Kent State enters the weekend with wins in three of their past four games . . . Debbie Bell leads the offensive attack with 11 goals . . . In the cage, goalkeeper Caroline Suitch owns a 1.65 goals-against average and a .761 save percentage with 54 total saves.
The Last Meeting
Ball State and Kent State split a pair of meetings in 2007 with each team winning on the road . . . The Golden Flashes won the first meeting 3-2, but the Cardinals avenged the loss later in the season, tallying their highest goal total for a game in a 5-4 overtime victory.
Sunday's game will be broadcast on channel 57 and online at www.ballstatesports.com for free by the Ball State Sports Link.
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