Ball State University Athletics
Soccer Opens MAC Play This Weekend with BG, EMU
September 24, 2014 | Soccer
The Ball State soccer team rides a four-game unbeaten streak into the start of Mid-American Conference play this weekend.
The Cardinals (4-1-2) will open the league slate Friday at home with a 5 p.m. kickoff against Bowling Green (1-6) and then travel to face Eastern Michigan (4-2-1) Sunday at 1 p.m. Live audio for Friday's game will be available at ballstatesports.com through WCRD.
Ball State will again be celebrating Youth Soccer Month during Friday's game at the Briner Sports Complex. Youth players will run onto the field with the starters and participate in a halftime event. There will also be bounce houses near the field.
The Cardinals check in at No. 79 this week in the NCAA RPI. Their one loss is the fewest for the program through the first seven games of a season since 2006.
Ball State closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule last weekend with a 3-1 victory over Jacksonville State. Gabby Veldman scored her team-leading third goal of the season. All three of her goals have been game-winners, placing her tied for 11th in the nation in that category.
Elaina Musleh and Leah Mattingly scored the other goals against Jacksonville State. In total, eight different Cardinals have found the back of the net this season.
Eastern Michigan is close behind Ball State this week at No. 81 in the RPI and opens its MAC schedule Friday at Miami University. The Eagles' only losses have come to Michigan State and a Texas Tech team that was ranked 16th in the country at the time. Bowling Green is coming off losses to Detroit and Butler last weekend.
For a complete preview of this weekend's games, check out This Week in Ball State Soccer.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State soccer, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateSoccer on Twitter.
