Ball State University Athletics
Field Hockey Hosts Northwestern in Home Opener
September 12, 2011 | Field Hockey
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State field hockey team plays at BSU Turf Field for the first time in 2011 when the squad hosts Northwestern in its home opener Tuesday at 3 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: Ball State traveled to Bloomington, Ind. Saturday, Sept. 3 for an contest with in-state rival Indiana at the IU field Hockey Field. The Cardinals fell to the Hoosiers, 4-0, as Indiana paced the contest with strong offensive pressure and outshot Ball State, 28-3.
SCOUTING BALL STATE: Ball State enters weekend play with a 0-3 record on the year after opening the season with a loss to Indiana. The Cardinals are averaging 12.7 shots per game, with senior forward Devanny Kuhn (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) leading the squad with 13, while goalkeepers Chelsea Mitchell (Stevens, Pa./Cocalico) and Haley Fusting (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) have each spent 105:00 in goal, including tallying nine and 16 saves, respectively.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN: Northwestern enters the contest Tuesday with 73 votes in the 2011 Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll. Under the guidance of third-year head coach Tracy Fuchs, the Wildcats finished the 2010 season with an 11-9 record (3-3 Big 10).
Before its contest with Ball State, Northwestern fell to No. 3 Maryland, 3-0, Saturday and defeated No. 8 American, 2-1, Sunday after opening the season with 4-0 shutouts of Miami (OH) and Kent State. Junior Chelsea Armstrong paces Northwestern with seven goals and two assists, including 33 shots, while freshman Maddy Carpenter owns a 3-2 record on the season after accumulating 350:00 in the cage and 28 saves, allowing seven goals.
SERIES HISTORY: Tuesday's contest marks the 25th time Ball State and Northwestern will met as the Wildcats own the 15-7-2 all-time record against the Cardinals. The teams last met during the 2010 season in Evanston, Ill. at Lakeside Field. Senior midfielder Caitlin Maguire (Louisville, Ky./Presentation Academy) and Kuhn scored one goal apiece, however Ball State fell to Northwestern, 6-2.
COACHES IN THE CROWD: Beth Maddox enters her second season as head coach of the Ball State University field hockey team in 2011 with assistant coach Jacque DeMarco and student coaches Morgan Cloutier and Brittany Hammer. Maddox is the sixth head coach in Ball State history. Under her direction, the Cardinals have brought in 10 freshmen for the 2011 season, in addition to nine current upperclassmen. Ball State's international flair to the 2011 roster features Hermans from The Hague, Holland.
RETURNING PLAYERS: The Cardinals return seven seniors in an experienced upperclassmen group, including forward Kristen Falk (Pennsburg, Pa./Perkiomen), forward CJ Hermes (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy), Kuhn, senior defender Gretchen Lulow (Ballwin, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy), Maguire, Mitchell and defender Katie Norris (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy), while defender Devon Bell (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) and midfielder Marisa Weachter (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) make up the two-member junior class.
NEWCOMERS: The squad welcomes ten freshmen to the 2011 roster in freshman forward Charlie Digby (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams), Fusting, midfielder Leanne Goldblatt (Yorktown Heights, N.Y. (Lakeland), midfielder Sanne Hermans (The Hague, Holland), defender Laura Malinoski (Eastampton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional), defender Jenna Rosenberry (Manheim, Pa./Elizabethtown Area), midfielder Tarel Teach (Virginia Beach, Va./Ocean Lakes), forward Kaitlin Thompson (San Carlos, Calif./St. Francis), midfielder Bianca Velez (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam) and midfielder Tori Widrick (Cazenovia, N.Y./Cazenovia).
2010 MAC HONORS: Kuhn and Lulow earned First Team and Second Team All-MAC honors, respectively, in addition to Academic All-MAC honors. Also, Hermes, Lulow, Maguire and recent graduates Hannah Jones, Kaitlan Mitchell and Maura Sawicki earned National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) National Academic Squad honors.
COMING UP ON THE CARDINALS' CALENDAR: Ball State heads to Ann Arbor, Mich. Friday for a pair of weekend contest versus No. 11 Boston University and No. 14 Michigan at the Phyllis Ocker Field Hockey Field.
Live stats will be provided for all games on BallStateSports.com and updates can be found by following @BSUFieldHockey on Twitter.
