LIVE STATS
MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State soccer team continues its season-opening four-game road swing on Sunday afternoon as the Cardinals travel to Norman, Okla. to battle Big 12 member Oklahoma. Game time is set for 1 p.m. (CT) at John Crain Field.
“This is a big opportunity for us to go out of region and show what Ball State Soccer is all about,” first-year head coach Michael Lovett said. “This will be a great test of where our team stands against a strong opponent in Oklahoma.”
Sunday's game marks the first meeting all-time between Ball State and Oklahoma on the soccer field. The Cardinals have only played one other team from the Big 12 Conference in program history as they fell to Iowa State 5-0 in the Cardinals' inaugural season of 1999.
“We have said since the spring that we don't want to be happy just going on the road and playing teams like Oklahoma,” Lovett said. “We have to go into these games focused on playing Ball State soccer and believing we can win every game on our schedule.”
The Cardinals (0-1-0) opened the 2008 season with a tough 1-0 loss at Valparaiso last weekend. The loss snapped the Cardinals' four-game winning streak in season openers and dropped BSU to 7-3 all-time in season openers.
The Cardinals started slowly against Valparaiso as they were our-shot 4-1 in the first half. Ball State regrouped in the second half and held a 4-3 advantage in shots. Valparaiso was able to score the game's only goal in the 71st minute to improve to 3-1-0 all-time against the Cardinals.
Ball State, the two-time defending Mid-American Conference regular season champions, returns 15 letterwinners from last season's 13-5-2 record. The Cardinals are led by a strong seven-member senior class that has a 41-12-7 record during their careers in Muncie.
The senior class is highlighted by midfielder Annie Aiello (Granger, Ind./Penn) who earned First Team All-MAC and Second Team All-Region accolades last season. Aiello, one of the team's tri-captains, scored five goals last season, all from the penalty spot. Joining Aiello in the captains' roles are goalkeeper Rachael Murphy (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) and forward Sarah Schumacker (Fairfield, Ohio/Hamilton).
Murphy led the Cardinals' defense last season that allowed just 13 goals against as she posted 10 shutouts on the year. She played a scoreless first half against Valparaiso last weekend in the season opener. Schumacker scored five goals for the Cardinals last season and finished with 12 points on the year.
The Cardinals also return Second Team All-MAC forward Emily Rein (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) who led the team in scoring last year with six goals and five assists. Rein enters the 2008 season third all-time in BSU history in career points (54) and goals (22).
Oklahoma enters the weekend with a 0-1-0 record on the year as the Sooners dropped a 3-1 decision at Colorado College to open the season. The Sooners are scheduled to face MAC foe Central Michigan on Friday evening to open the weekend.
Oklahoma brings a young squad into the 2008 season with only five upperclassmen. The Sooners posted a 6-10-3 record in 2007 and are under new direction this season as first-year head coach Nicole Nelson became the third head coach in Oklahoma soccer history.
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