Ball State University Athletics
Field Hockey To Host Conference Foe Miami
October 30, 2014 | Field Hockey
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State field hockey team (5-10, 1-4 MAC) will host Mid-American Conference opponent Miami University (6-11, 3-2 MAC) Saturday afternoon in the 2014 regular season finale at 1 p.m. at the Briner Sports Complex. The game will feature special Senior Day recognition prior to the start of the match.
Ball State is coming off of a tough weekend loss after posting a 6-1 final against Kent State. In the Mid-American Conference game, junior Bethany Han (Lititz, Pa/Warwick) scored the lone goal for the Cardinals, her fifth of the season, with help from sophomore Mikayla Mooney (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School).
MAC leader Kent State was aggressive offensively with 32 recorded shots and 17 on net. Scoring started early in the match due to an unassisted goal from the Golden Flash's Madison Thompson just 29 seconds in. Junior goalkeeper Shelby Henley (Novi, Mich./Novi) tallied 11 saves to Kent State's Andrea Rinehart's two, giving Henley a 0.647 save percentage facing 17 shots on net.
As a team, the Cardinals are second in the MAC in saves per game (6.20) and are also ranked third in scoring average (1.72), goals scored (27), goals scored per game (1.80), assists (24) and assists per game (1.60). Goalkeeper Henley stacks second in the MAC in saves per game (5.73) and save percentage (0.677).
SCOUTING MIAMI: Miami currently holds a 6-11 record going into the final game of the regular season, while holding a 3-2 record in the Mid-American Conference. Senior Valentina Neira leads the team with 12 goals and four assists, followed by junior Bea Dechant, sophomore Geagy Pritchard and senior Ali Froede all tallying five. Goalkeeping duties have been split between sophomore Alysa Xavier and senior Christina Heston for a combined 40 goals against, 2.34 goals against average while registering a 0.680 save percentage on 216 shots faced.
The Redhawks dominate the MAC in goals against average (2.34) and goals allowed per game (2.35). Miami also sits at second in the rankings in scoring margin (-0.18), scoring average (2.17), shots (187), shots per game (11), goals scored (37), goals scored per game (2.18), goals allowed (40), assists (28) and assists per game (1.65).
SERIES HISTORY: Ball State holds the 45-20 (0.692) all-time advantage over Miami, though the Redhawks have snagged the last three meetings over the Cardinals. Most recently, last year's meeting of the two teams resulted in the Redhawks victory 7-0 in Oxford, Ohio and 7-1 in Muncie in 2012.
Live stats and video broadcast will be available for fans unable to attend Saturday's match at the following link:
LIVE STATS: http://ballstatesports.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?SPID=7632
LIVE BROADCAST: http://ballstatesports.com/liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml?SPID=7632&db_oem_id=14200
The Ball State field hockey team would like to thank all fans for their continued support throughout the 2014 season, and ask fans to help them in celebrating the seniors' time with the Cardinals at Saturday's match.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State field hockey, check out BallStateSports.com and follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateFH on Twitter.
