Ball State University Athletics
Soccer Heads to First-Place Miami for MAC Finale
October 24, 2012 | Soccer
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State soccer team will close the regular season Thursday with a trip to Oxford, Ohio, to take on the top team in the Mid-American Conference, Miami University.
The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start at Miami Soccer Field with live stats (free) and live video (premium) available at miamiredhawks.com.
The Cardinals have already locked up their spot in the eight-team MAC Tournament. They need to hand Miami its first conference defeat and have Kent State lose to Ohio in order to secure a first-round home game. Otherwise, the Cardinals will open the tournament on the road.
Ball State (8-6-4) owns a 5-3-2 league record after splitting two games at home last weekend. The Cardinals defeated Bowling Green in dramatic fashion last Friday on Skylar Chew's game-winner with 35 seconds left in double-overtime. On Sunday, Ball State dropped a 2-0 decision to MAC West-leading Central Michigan.
Chew's goal against Bowling Green was her second of the season to go along with one assist. Sophomore forwards Nicole Pembleton and Jasmine Moses continue to lead the Cardinals in goals with four and three, respectively, while defenders Pavla Benyrova and Amanda Dreyfus top the team with three assists each.
Ball State has shut out four of its past six opponents and has surrendered more than one goal only five times this season. Three members of the Ball State back line -- Chew, Benyrova and Brigit Reder -- have started all 18 games and combined to play all but 31 minutes in the field.
Senior goalkeeper Aubrey Buehler has played all but 33 minutes between the posts. She owns a 1.00 goals against average and a .759 save percentage.
Miami (16-2-0) is unbeaten and untied in conference play at 10-0-0. The RedHawks won last weekend at Central Michigan and at home against Bowling Green to win the MAC regular-season championship outright with one game to play. They will be the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament.
Miami has out-scored its opponents this season by a total of 49-15 and has scored 17 more goals than any other team in the league. The RedHawks feature three of the top four goal scorers in the MAC in Jess Kodiak (10), Kelsey Dinges (10) and Katy Dolesh (8).
Defensively, Miami is allowing 0.83 goals per game. Goalkeeper Allison Norenberg has started all 18 games and owns a 0.84 goals against average plus a .779 save percentage.
All-time, Ball State hold an 8-6-1 advantage in the series with Miami. The Cardinals won last year's meeting by a 2-1 score in Muncie on goals from Reder and Moses.
