Ball State University Athletics
Field Hockey to Play Ohio in MAC Tournament
November 04, 2010 | Field Hockey
MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State earned the sixth seed in the MAC tournament and will travel to Mount Pleasant, Mich. to play No. 3 Ohio in a first round contest Thursday at 1:30 p.m. from the CMU Field Hockey Complex.
FROM THE WEEKEND: On Friday, Miami shutout Ball State, 7-0, at the Miami Field Hockey Complex. The RedHawks outshot the Cardinals, 18-6, and recorded a 7-2 advantage on penalty corners. Senior Morgan Cloutier (Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill) tallied two shots and a defensive save, while sophomore Devon Bell (Woodbury, N.J./Cherokee) recorded the Cardinals' second defensive save on the day. Junior Gretchen Lulow (Ballwin, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy), junior forward Kristen Falk (Pennsburg, Pa./Upper Perkiomen), sophomore Marisa Weachter (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) and junior CJ Hermes (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy) all finished with one shot each, while sophomore goalkeeper Morgan Hammer (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel Area) accumulated six saves in 70:00 of action in the cage.
Sunday afternoon, Ball State fell to Central Michigan, 1-3, at the BSU Turf Field. The Chippewas outshot the Cardinals, 16-8, and recorded a 12-6 advantage on penalty corners. Senior Elizabeth Blaum (Wilkes Barre, Pa./Wyoming Seminary) put Ball State on the board with a goal off a Cardinal penalty corner. Cloutier provided the assist, her first of the season. Blaum also recorded a defensive save, her first of the season, while senior Maura Sawicki (St. Louis/Nerinx Hall) and Lulow combined for another three defensive saves for Ball State. Cloutier finished the contest with two shots, while Falk and senior Hannah Jones (Louisville, Ky./Dupont Manual) tallied three and one, respectively. Junior goalkeeper Chelsea Mitchell (Stevens, Pa./Cocalico) accumulated five saves in the cage.
SCOUTING OHIO: The contest versus Ohio Thursday marks the 68th meeting between the two teams, as the Cardinals own a 34-33 series advantage against the Bobcats. On Oct. 15, Ohio defeated Ball State, 3-1, Friday afternoon at the BSU Turf Field. The Bobcats outshot the Cardinals, 22-10, however the Ball State defense shined, combining for 17 saves on the day. Kuhn scored her 13th goal of the season off a penalty corner and Lulow recorded the Cardinals' lone assist during the contest. Mitchell tallied a game-high 12 saves, the highest among all active BSU goalkeepers, in 70:00 minutes of action. Taylor Brown paces the Bobcats with 33 points, including four game-winning goals. Ohio enters tournament play after defeating Missouri State on Friday, 2-1 in overtime.
MAC HONORS: Two Ball State players have earned MAC Offensive and Defensive Player of Week awards this season, as Kuhn and Sawicki collected the honors on three occasions. This season, Kuhn collected 33 points including five game-winning goals and a defensive save. With 15 goals, she has doubled her total of goals scored during both the 2008-09 seasons (7). Also, with her team-leading 15 goals so far this season, Kuhn leads all active BSU scorers with 22 career goals and her 52 career points stand as the most among active BSU players. The communication studies major stands two goals shy of breaking Chantelle Isaac's record of 23 goals (2003-05) and 15 goals short of breaking Lindsay Quay's career record of 37 goals (2003-06). Kuhn also ranks 17th in the nation in goals per game (0.88) and 25th in points per game with 1.94.
On Sept. 8, she tallied MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career after combining for four goals and two assists on the weekend against Robert Morris and St. Louis. Kuhn earned the honor second time this season on Oct. 13 after her performance against Central Michigan and UC Davis.
This season, Sawicki started in all 19 games and recorded a team-high 14 defensive saves. On Oct. 20, she earned MAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for her performance against Ohio and Kent State at BSU Turf Field after combining for six defensive saves and an assist on the weekend. The elementary education major ranks first in the nation in defensive saves, helping Ball State to a national ranking of first in defensive saves with 29. Sawicki leads all active BSU players with 16 career defensive saves.
