LIVE STATS vs. Dayton
RADIO vs. Dayton
MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State soccer team wraps up the non-conference portion of its schedule this weekend as the Cardinals hit the road Friday night to take on Loyola (Ill.) at 6 p.m. (CT) at the Loyola Soccer Park before heading home Sunday to host Dayton at 1 p.m. at the BSU Soccer Field.
“I feel that this is our toughest weekend to date this year,” head coach Michael Lovett said. “This is a good test for us to see whether we are truly ready for MAC play or if we still have work to do. Loyola and Dayton are two very good opponents that will push us to our limits each game. We have to execute our game plan and continue to play Ball State soccer for us to get positive results.”
Ball State enters the weekend with a 3-3-0 record on the year as the Cardinals have won three of their last four games. Last weekend, the Cardinals posted back-to-back shutouts at home with 2-0 victories against Eastern Illinois and Southern Methodist. BSU has now posted shutouts in all three of its victories so far this season.
Senior goalkeeper Rachael Murphy (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) posted the two shutouts over the weekend to become the all-time leader in career shutouts in BSU history. Murphy is now tied for third all-time in the Mid-American Conference in career shutouts with 20.
Ball State has used a balanced scoring attack so far this season as six different players have found the back of the net on the Cardinals' six goals. Senior forward Emily Rein (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) found the back of the net against SMU and leads the team with five points on the strength of one goal and three assists. The Cardinals also picked up goals last weekend from freshman Olivia Ramirez (Rockford, Ill./Guilford), senior Annie Aiello (Granger, Ind./Penn) and senior Bailey Decker (Granger, Ind./Penn).
Loyola, a NCAA Tournament team last season, enters the weekend with a 3-5-0. The Ramblers are coming off of a 2-1 victory last Sunday at No. 18 Kansas. The victory was Loyola's first ever against a ranked opponent. Loyola has also picked up wins at Xavier and at DePaul.
The Ramblers have scored 12 goals so far this season with Jackie Vera leading the way with four. Cynthia Morote-Ariza leads the team in scoring overall with 14 points, as she has tallied three goals and a team-high eight assists.
Dayton enters the weekend with a 4-3-0 record and the Flyers are ranked 10th in the Great Lakes region by Soccerbuzz.com. The Flyers have picked up wins against Indiana, Pittsburgh, Michigan and Cincinnati. Dayton has dropped games against Illinois, Duke and Rutgers. The Flyers will face Wright State on the road Friday night to open the weekend.
Dayton has tallied 12 goals so far this season with Mandi Back and Caitlyn Proffitt leading the way with three goals apiece. Both Back and Proffitt have also dished out an assist to lead the team with seven total points.
Friday's game marks the third meeting all-time between Ball State and Loyola. The series is tied at 1-1 with each team claiming victory on its home field. Loyola took the first ever meeting between the two teams with a 2-0 victory in 1999, while Ball State won the most recent contest with a 5-1 victory in 2005. Sunday's game will be the first ever meeting between Ball State and Dayton.
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