Soccer Closes Non-Conference Play Sunday With Butler
September 14, 2012 | Soccer
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State soccer team will have its final tune-up for Mid-American Conference play Sunday when Butler makes the short trip up I-69 for a 2 p.m. contest at the Briner Sports Complex.
The Cardinals have just one game this weekend after playing back-to-back days in Honolulu last weekend and then traveling back to Muncie. They will open the MAC portion of the schedule with two more home matches next weekend.
ABOUT BALL STATE
Ball State (3-2-2) earned a pair of 1-1 draws in Honolulu against Hawai'i and Detroit. Sophomore forwards Nicole Pembleton and Jasmine Moses scored the Cardinals' goals with Pembleton's tying the Hawai'i game late in regulation. The Ontario native leads Ball State with two goals and five points on the season.
The Cardinals' defensive effort continues to limit its opponents' scoring opportunities. Ball State has surrendered only five goals over its past six games and has not allowed a single opponent to score more than one goal during that stretch.
Ball State limited Hawai'i and Detroit to a combined 17 shots and seven shots on goal through two double-overtime games and 220 total minutes in Honolulu. The Titans managed just six total shots against the Cardinals last Saturday.
Cardinals senior goalkeeper Aubrey Buehler owns a 1.05 goals against average, having played every minute between the posts this season.
SCOUTING BUTLER
Butler (3-3-1) plays Friday at home against Eastern Illinois before heading to Muncie on Sunday. The Bulldogs have been off since last Friday when they suffered a 3-0 loss to Michigan in Ann Arbor. Butler's three wins this season have all come against in-state teams -- Purdue (1-0), Indiana State (3-0) and IPFW (1-0).
Freshman midfielder Sophia Maccagnone leads Butler offensively with two goals and four points this season, while freshman keeper Mackenzie Hawkins has started six of Butler's seven games between the posts. She owns a goals against average of 0.64 and a save percentage of .810.
ALL-TIME VERSUS BUTLER
Ball State and Butler have split six all-time meetings evenly, but the teams have not played since the 2007 season. The Bulldogs won that game by a 2-1 score in Muncie, snapping a three-game Ball State winning streak in the series. Here is a look at the previous six meetings:
2002: Butler 2, Ball State 1 (Muncie)
2003: Butler 1, Ball State 0 (Indianapolis)
2004: Ball State 2, Butler 1 (Indianapolis)
2005: Ball State 3, Butler 2 (Muncie)
2006: Ball State 2, Butler 1 (Indianapolis)
2007: Butler 2, Ball State 1 (Muncie)
TOP-NOTCH DEFENSE
After surrendering three goals in its season opener at Marshall, Ball State has allowed just five goals over its past six games. The Cardinals shut out IPFW, 1-0, on Sept. 2 and have limited every other opponent during that stretch to exactly one goal.
OUT-SHOOTING THE OPPOSITION
Ball State has given itself more scoring opportunities than its opponents this season, out-shooting them by a combined total of 103-64. The Cardinals have logged more shots than their opponent in six of their seven games and have limited four of their past five opponents to fewer than 10 shots (Hawai'i had 11).
PEMBLETON COMING UP CLUTCH
Sophomore forward Nicole Pembleton has played a part in three Ball State goals this season, and all three of them have helped to decide the outcomes of games.
Pembleton's first collegiate goal was the game-winner in the second overtime Aug. 26 against Xavier. She assisted on the game-winning goal Sept. 2 against IPFW and then scored the game-tying goal Sept. 7 at Hawai'i to help Ball State earn a 1-1 draw.
BUEHLER'S CAREER NUMBERS
Senior goalkeeper Aubrey Buehler's shutout against IPFW was the 13th of her career. It was her eighth since transferring to Ball State after playing her freshman year at UT Martin. Buehler ranks fourth in school history in wins (16) and goals against average (1.29).
REDER ON THE ALL-TIME LISTS
Senior defender Brigit Reder is tied for seventh on Ball State's all-time goals scored list with 11 in her career. She also ranks 14th on the Cardinals' list for career points with 25 (11 goals, three assists).
CHEW PICKS UP PAIR OF HONORS
Senior defender Skylar Chew was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week by the league office and the MAC Player of the Week by College Sports Madness three weeks ago. She scored one goal and assisted on another in the Ball State Tournament (Aug. 24-26) while helping the Cardinals limit their opponents to just 10 shots on goal over two games.
MORE ON THE CARDINALS
BSU is coming off a 9-9-3 campaign last year as the Cardinals improved for the second consecutive season under head coach Craig Roberts. This year's team is much more experienced with the return of 21 letterwinners and eight starters from a year ago.
Leading scorer Brigit Reder returns for her senior year following an all-conference junior season in which she totaled 16 points and led all Mid-American Conference defenders with seven goals. Sophomore forward Jasmine Moses also scored seven goals for the Cardinals last season in her rookie campaign, but Reder and Moses are just two of a total of 14 returning BSU players who tallied points last year. Ball State also features a pair of experienced goalkeepers in senior Aubrey Buehler and junior Layne Schramm. Buehler started 19 games in 2011 and posted a 1.30 goals against average.
BSU PRESEASON HONORS
College Sports Madness named its Preseason All-Mid-American Conference teams in August, and Ball State was well-represented with three selections. Senior defender Brigit Reder was selected to the 13-member first team, while sophomore forward Jasmine Moses was recognized on the 13-member second team. Additionally, freshman midfielder/defender Kaila Mack was picked as the league's preseason Freshman of the Year.
THIRD SEASON FOR ROBERTS
The Cardinals are in their third season under the direction of head coach Craig Roberts. The program won just four games a year prior to Roberts' arrival but managed seven wins in his first season in 2010 and then improved to 9-9-3 in 2011.
Last year's team won seven games in an eight-game stretch in the middle of the season despite fielding a roster with a combined 18 freshmen and sophomores.
BSU PICKED FOURTH IN MAC WEST
Ball State was chosen fourth in the Mid-American Conference West Division in the annual preseason poll of the league's head coaches. The Cardinals will look to improve on that prediction like they did a year ago when they were picked sixth in the preseason poll but finished fourth with a league record of 4-5-2.
